Marathon Digital Holdings achieved its highest monthly Bitcoin mining output ever by successfully mining 1,853 BTC in December.

In an update this week, Marathon said it mined 12,852 BTC, worth over $563.4 million, last year, surpassing its mining production from 4,144 BTC in 2022 by more than three times. The Bitcoin miner also raised its average operational hash rate by 18% every month, reaching 22.4 EH/s.

Bitcoin Production Surges

Marathon’s chairman and CEO, Fred Thiel, revealed that the company ramped up its energized hash rate by 4% to 24.7 exahashes and extended its lead as the largest publicly traded bitcoin miner in North America.

According to the press release, significant transaction fees played a crucial role in accelerating December’s Bitcoin production, surpassing the typical growth rate of the average operational hash rate. During the month, MaraPool garnered over 380 BTC in transaction fees, constituting 22% of the asset’s production, a notable increase from the 12% recorded the previous month.

The ability to secure substantial transaction fees, a result of owning and managing its pool, stands as a key competitive advantage derived from its vertically integrated tech stack.

“The recently announced acquisition of the sites in Granbury, TX and Kearney, NE, which is expected to close in January 2024, is expected to improve our cost structure and increase our near-term growth potential. This transaction is on track to close in mid-January and with new miners already on order, we expect to be able to quickly fill available capacity. We look forward to sharing more details on the integration strategy and financial impact after the deal has closed.”

The exec stated that they aim for a 30% growth in energized hash rate throughout 2024 while highlighting the strategic acquisition of two sites from Generate Capital. Thiel also emphasized that this acquisition positions Marathon to achieve a milestone, projecting a hash rate of 50 exahashes within the next 18 to 24 months.

Besides the US, Marathon is focussing on Abu Dhabi, where it now has 2.7 exahashes online. This includes more than 13,000 ope