Bitfarms, a cryptocurrency mining company, experienced a significant decline in revenue during May, marking the first full month since the Bitcoin halving occurred in mid-April. The company reported a decrease in Bitcoin production from 263 BTC ($18.1 million) in April to 156 BTC ($10.7 million) in May. Bitfarms referred to May as the “first full month with post-halving economics” in a statement released on June 3. Additionally, the average amount of Bitcoin earned per unit of computational power dropped by 45% from 44 exahashes per second (EH/s) to 24 EH/s.
The Bitcoin halving event on April 20 reduced the Bitcoin mining subsidy from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC, placing financial pressure on miners. Bitfarms attributed the decline in Bitcoin production to “unusually cold temperatures” at its Rio Cuarto facility in Argentina. The severe weather conditions, which the company claimed were the worst in 44 years, forced Bitfarms to suspend mining operations in Rio Cuarto for eight days.
Despite the challenges faced in Argentina, Bitfarms noted that the damage was partially offset by a 4.2% decrease in network difficulty compared to April. Additionally, during May, Bitfarms secured an additional 100 megawatts at its Yguazu site in Paraguay through a power purchase agreement with Paraguay’s state-owned entity, Administración Nacional de Electricidad. This agreement will double the site’s capacity to 200 megawatts and potentially add 6 EH/s upon installation in 2025.
Currently, Bitfarms has an installed hash rate of 9.5 EH/s, which would make it the fifth largest behind Marathon Digital, Core Scientific, CleanSpark, and Riot Platforms, according to Hashrate Index data. The company expects its hash rate to increase to 12 EH/s once it installs the 16,200 Bitcoin miners that are en route. Bitfarms operates mining operations in the U.S. and Canada as well.
In recent news, Bitfarms rejected a $950 million acquisition proposal from Riot Platforms. Despite the 42% decline in Bitcoin production, Bitfarms (BITF) saw a 2.92% increase on the Nasdaq on June 3, according to Google Finance. However, BITF is still down 15.9% in 2024, following a successful 2023 where the company’s stock rose by 588%.