Bitcoin mining giant Marathon Digital sold 1,500 bitcoins (BTC) in January. This is the company’s first bitcoin sale.
The company said in a release on Feb. 2 that the decision was made to cover some of the spending.
“As bitcoin mining volumes continue to increase, we have made the strategic decision to sell a portion of our bitcoin as previously planned to help cover our operating and general expenses,” said the company’s chairman and CEO. CEO Fred Thiel said in a release. The company currently holds about 11,418 bitcoins.
Competitor Riot Platforms also sold some of the bitcoin it mined last year. Marathon was one of the few mining companies to hold on to bitcoin after hinting at a potential sale. Bitcoin’s nearly 40% gain in January is likely the deciding factor.
According to a release, the company will sell some of the bitcoin it mines this year to help cover monthly operating costs.
The company had a hashrate of 11 exahash/sec (EH/sec) in January and is expected to reach 23 EH/sec around mid-2023. The total hash rate of Bitcoin is currently about 282.55 EH/s, and Marathon accounts for about 4%.
Marathon mined a record 687 bitcoins in January, up 45% from last December.
“Our bitcoin production improvements are largely a result of our team’s ability to work with our new hosting provider in Texas,” Thiel said.
｜Translation: coindesk JAPAN
｜Editing: Takayuki Masuda
｜Image: Fred Thiel (CoinDesk)
｜Original: Marathon Digital Sells Mined Bitcoin for First Time to Monetize Recent Rally
