Crypto Mining Companies in the U.S.
In this article, let’s delve deeper into the survivors and the top crypto mining companies in the US and shed some light on the features that set them apart.
The Top Survivors:
Despite the severity of the recent crypto winter, several mining firms have remained afloat. Here is an overview of the performance in Q2 of the largest and most important companies still in the market.
| MINER | MCAP | POWER CAPACITY | HASH RATE IN Q2 | REVENUE/BTC | NO OF BTC MINED in Q2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EZ Blockchain | – | 31 MW | 787.38 PH/s | $5.7 million | 203.9 |
| Riot Blockchain | 2.05 B | 700 MW | 10.7 EH/s | $76.7 million | 1,775 |
| Cipher Mining | 786 M | 207 MW | 6.8EH/s | $31.2 million | 1,112 |
| CleanSpark | 793 M | 86 MW | 9.3 EH/s | $42.5 million | 1,871 |
| Marathon Digital | 2.10 B | 324 MW | 19.1 EH/s | $81.8 million | 2,926 |
| Bitfarms | 365 M | 200 MW | 5.3 EH/s | $35 million | 1,223 |
Riot Platforms Inc.
Riot is one of the largest publicly traded Bitcoin miners in the United States, focusing on proof-of-work mining to support the Bitcoin ecosystem. The company has about 335 employees who run its Bitcoin mining operations in Central Texas and Denver, Colorado.
The mining and digital infrastructure company originally launched as Riot Blockchain. However, after the 2022 crypto winter, the company changed its name to Riot Platforms. In its press release announcing the rebranding, Riot revealed that the decision was a result of successful acquisitions of Whinstone U.S. and ESS Metron.
Renewable energy sources power Riot’s self-mining operations and consume less power. They have deployed a fleet of over 95,000 miners with a 10.7 EH/S. The company’s current power capacity stands at 700 MW.
Riot Blockchain aims to become the most prominent Bitcoin network supporter with a market capitalization of $2.05 billion. Notably, the company mined 1,775 BTC in the second quarter of 2023, a 27% increase from the amount of Bitcoin mined in the same period in 2022. Bitcoin price, however, averaged $33,000 at that time in the previous year. The mining revenue remained higher at $49.7 million for that quarter, against $46.2 million in 2022.
Marathon Digital Holdings Inc.
Marathon Digital is another U.S.-based Bitcoin mining company of considerable size. The company aims to increase the hash rate or the amount of computer power Bitcoin miners use to mine new Bitcoins and validate network transactions while increasing Bitcoin production.
According to the latest data, Marathon Holdings has 66,000 active miners, achieving a 19.1 EH/S hash rate. Its power capacity stands at 324 megawatts. Much of its energy comes from fossil fuels, although the company intends to transition to carbon-free mining.
In one of their recent announcements, Marathon announced they mined 979 BTC in June, a 21% drop from the previous month. However, it was a 599% rise from its mining output from June 2022, which pits the company on a good trajectory after surviving the crypto winter. Also, the company is at its final stages of achieving a 23.3 EH/S, which will see it mine more BTC.
Cipher Mining
With a fleet of more than 65,000 miners and a hashing rate of 6.8 EH/S, the company managed to mine 1,112 Bitcoin in Q2 of 2023. According to the company’s operational updates released in August, Cipher mined 418 BTC in July, a 16% increase from the amount mined in June. Besides, the crypto miner recently acquired an additional 11,000 rigs to hit 7.2 EH/S by the end of Q3.
CleanSpark Mining
CleanSpark is one of the top crypto mining companies in the US in terms of the number of miners deployed and hashing rate. As of 31st August, the mining facility had 88,217 operational miners with a hash rate of 9.3 EH/S. According to the company CEO, CleanSpark is changing the future of Bitcoin mining. They are working towards the 100% green energy goal by investing in low-carbon energy.
According to a press release by CleanSpark on their financial results, the company recorded $42.5 million in revenues in Q2, having mined 1,871 BTC. This was a 109% increase from the same period in the prior year. Further, the Bitcoin miner announced they had made significant progress towards achieving a 16 EH/S hashing rate by the end of the year.
Bitfarms Ltd. (BITF)
Bitfarms is a blockchain infrastructure company and one of the largest self-mining cryptocurrency firms in the United States. The company provides computing power to crypto networks, such as Bitcoin, and earns fees by securing and processing transactions from the networks.
Although it achieves a lower hash rate of 5.3 EH/S compared to other miners, it competes favorably with a 200 MW power capacity and a fleet of over 56,000 miners. The company’s overall Bitcoin mined in the second quarter was 1,223 BTC. Its 5.3 EH/S was a 10% increase in June, and the crypto miner targets to reach 7.0 EH/S in 2024.
EZ Blockchain
EZ Blockchain launched in 2017 but is already a top mining company focused on tackling the global waste energy problem with crypto mining.
It is a self-funded company with a phenomenal growth rate in multiple locations. The largest facility in the United States focuses on reinventing waste management through Bitcoin mining.
The company pursues sustainable crypto mining using renewable energy sources of Wind, Gas, Solar, and Nuclear energy. Additionally, it uses innovative techniques to access cheap energy from wasted energy and flared gas in oil fields.
EZ Blockchain prides itself on producing air and immersion-cooled mobile data centers that are completely plug-and-play. The company also provides hosting services at $0.7-$0.8 per kWh with 10+ miners minimum to participate.
The company has accomplished numerous projects across the US, enabling it to remain afloat and carry out profitable and environmentally friendly crypto mining.
Having been in the business since 2017, EZ Blockchain has seen many high-flying crypto miners join and exit the industry, particularly during the crypto winter that seemed to be the death of crypto. The company remained in good shape by optimizing expenses and avoiding debts. It is the only company that is bootstrapping and not taking investor money. It utilizes innovative solutions that enable it to create revenue streams while operating optimally.
In a nutshell, here is how EZ Blockchain survived the longest crypto winter.
Minimizing Operational Costs
By reducing operational costs, the company cuts down on their mining expenses, allowing them to remain operational until the end of the crypto winter. With a lower expenditure, the mining rewards can meet the critical expenses necessary for the company to survive.
EZ Blockchain utilizes wasted energy to reduce power costs and realize green Bitcoin mining goals. They also use wind, solar, gas, and nuclear, providing hosting services for miners looking to mine more efficiently.
Selling BTC Immediately It’s Mined
Most companies hold a stack of Bitcoin from their block rewards in Bitcoin mining. As such, miners with small operating cashflows who find it difficult to meet the Bitcoin mining expense can liquidate their block rewards as soon as they mine. That way, the company can pay for upcoming expenses and remain operational. It saves the company from selling other assets, such as mining equipment, or shutting down operations.
Using Low-Cost Power Facilities
EZ Blockchain exploits wasted energy in oil fields by deploying the necessary infrastructure to the oil and gas fields to turn their wasted energy into productive use. The company taps the gas and uses it on-site for Bitcoin mining, providing cheap energy that allows its miners to keep running amid the energy crisis. It also invests in solar, wind, and nuclear energy.
Running Miners In Low Power Mode
When miners run in low power mode, the voltage flowing to the computer processor and components is reduced dynamically on run time to conserve electric voltage. It decreases the power consumption of the mining hardware over time, resulting in the system using less power and lower temperatures.
Doing More with Less
Bitcoin miners can participate in demand response programs to sell power back to the grid during high demand. With demand response programs, miners can reduce their energy costs and boost revenues, which can help meet some of their operational expenses or repay debts. Mining also becomes more profitable when companies mine during less expensive times.
Types of Energies Used in Crypto Mining
Typically, there are three major sources of energy, and they are all used in crypto mining in the US. They include:
- Fossil fuels
- Nuclear Power
- Renewable energy
Fossil fuels are non-renewable energy sources, including natural gas, coal, petroleum, and other gasses.
Renewable sources are preferable due to their environmentally friendly nature and alignment with sustainable crypto-mining goals. The major renewable energy sources include wind, solar, hydropower, and geothermal.
Natural Gas
Natural gas refers to the naturally occurring mixture of gasses, including methane and other low amounts of gases like carbon dioxide. It is a fossil fuel source and accounts for 38.8% of US electricity generation. According to American Electricity Generation Statistics, the country’s capacity was 1.3 million MW. Natural gas accounted for about 44% of the country’s power generation.
Hydroelectric Power
Hydroelectric power, fondly known as hydropower, is the electrical energy produced using generator-driven turbines that turn the potential energy from fast-flowing or falling water into electrical energy.
In the US, hydroelectric power accounts for 6.2% of the country’s electricity generation and 31.5% of the total renewable electricity generation, making it among the largest power sources. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) report in 2021, the total US hydroelectric power generation was 80 million KW.
Wind
Wind is a renewable energy source harnessed from wind turbines. It’s a clean energy source, which means using it for Bitcoin mining aligns with sustainability goals. According to the American Clean Power statistics, wind is the largest renewable energy source in the US and the fourth largest electricity generation in the country, with a total capacity of about 140 GW. With nearly 70,000 wind turbines spread throughout the country, wind power accounts for more than 10% of the US’s electricity.
Solar
Solar power refers to the radiant heat and light from the sun harnessed using various technologies to convert it into electrical energy. Typically, technologies like solar photovoltaic, solar heating, thermal energy, and solar architecture harness electrical power from the sun.
According to the US Energy Information Administration’s statistics, solar power accounts for 3% of electricity in the US, with projections to reach 14% by 2035. The country’s average solar production capacity has grown consistently to an estimated 130 GW of solar power today.
Geothermal Power
Geothermal power is the electrical power generated from geothermal energy using dry cycle, flash steam, and dry steam power stations. The United States is the global leader in geothermal power production. In 2021, the total geothermal power generation was 16 billion kWh. However, this represented only about 0.4% of the country’s utility-scale electricity generation.
Nuclear Power
Nuclear power is the electrical energy produced from nuclear reactions. It’s an independent energy source that accounts for 18.9% share of total electricity generation in the US. As of 2023, the US has 54 nuclear power plants spread over 28 states, producing about 778 million kWh.
Wrapping Up
While these companies survived the toughest crypto winter in history, a lot needs to be done to thrive in the fast-paced crypto industry. Bitcoin is still trading below $30,000, which is significantly below its all-time high. However, the threat may not be just about crypto prices this time. The next Bitcoin halving is only a couple of months away and will most likely affect miners dramatically.
The event, expected to happen in April 2024, will reduce the mining rewards per block by half. Computing power on the Bitcoin network could drop massively, resulting in a sharp increase in the cost of mining. According to the latest Bitcoin mining production cost statistics, the average cost of mining a single BTC is $26,000.
However, using renewable sources drops the rates to between $5,000 and $15,000. With Bitcoin trading slightly above $27,000, only companies fully focused on renewable energy can remain afloat. As such, crypto mining companies with the most efficient miners and lowest energy costs will have the best chances of surviving beyond the next Bitcoin halving.