Marathon Digital attributes 21% decline in Bitcoin mined to adverse weather conditions
Bitcoin mining company Marathon Digital has linked its recent slump in Bitcoin’s mined in June to the weather conditions in Texas and a drop in transaction fees.
According to a July 5 statement, Marathon Digital experienced a “21%” decline in June for the total amount of Bitcoin (BTC) mined compared to the previous month of May.
It was reported that Marathon produced “979 Bitcoin in June,” which, although lower than May, it also reflects a 599% increase compared to June 2022.
The primary reason cited for the decline of production in June was the impact of the weather conditions in Texas, where Marathon’s main operations are located. It’s worth noting that June marks the transition from spring to summer in Texas.
“The decreased production relative to last month was due to weather-related curtailment in Texas and a significant decrease in transaction fees.”
Cointelegraph previously reported on Feb 6 that crypto mining firm Riot Platforms had 17,040 rigs deployed at its operations in Texas offline due to “severe winter weather” in the state.
It was further explained that Marathon Digital’s transaction fees fell to approximately “5.1%” of the total Bitcoin earned in June, compared to “11.8%” earned in May.
It was noted that the “emergence” of Bitcoin Ordinals significantly increased transaction fees in May, adding that while network congestion eased in June, the company still has a positive outlook for the “future of mining economics.”
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In July 2022, weather was also reported to be having a major impact on crypto miners throughout Texas.
At that time, Peter Wall, CEO of crypto mining company Argo Blockchain that operates a data center in West Texas told Cointelegraph that the company curtails mining operations when ERCOT sends out a conservation alert.
In more recent news, a report released on July 5 by cryptocurrency analytics platform Coin Metrics revealed that Bitcoin miners made a $184 million from transaction fees in the second quarter of 2023, which is more than they made throughout the entire year of 2022.
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