MARA, the Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency miner formerly known as Marathon Digital, has acquired a wind farm in Hansford County, Texas. The facility will see the first implementation of the company’s Advanced ASIC Retirement Initiative.
Efficient use of energy and equipment
MARA announced a definitive agreement for the acquisition of the facility on Dec. 3. It has 114 MW of operational wind generation and 240 MW of interconnection capacity — that is, capacity that has not yet been connected to the power grid.
There is more than twice as much interconnection capacity as installed capacity in the United States, so the farm’s output would have likely been curtailed if it weren’t for MARA’s acquisition. Most interconnection capacity comes from alternative power sources.
MARA will not seek to connect the facility to the power grid. Rather, it will use the energy to power a data center.
MARA will run last-generation application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) at the facility as part of a debuting program it calls the Advanced ASIC Retirement Initiative. The equipment would otherwise have been written off or sold on the secondary market. MARA chairman and CEO Fred Thiel said:
“By repurposing machines and energizing them with 100% renewable, zero-marginal energy cost, we’re leveraging renewable resources that would have otherwise been curtailed, reducing our bitcoin production costs through vertical integration, and demonstrating MARA’s commitment to environmental stewardship.”
MARA has about 200,000 ASICs in its fleet as of the end of 2023.
Related: Publicly traded mining companies spend $3.6B on PP&E so far in 2024
MARA has a plump treasury
MARA, the largest publicly listed Bitcoin (BTC) miner, saw a $40 million increase in operational expenses in the third quarter of 2024, which contributed to a $124.8 million net loss. Its revenue grew 34.5% year-on-year in that quarter to $131.6 million.
Source: MARA Holdings
The company told the United States Securities and Exchange Commission that it acquired 6,484 BTC between Oct. 1 and Nov. 30 for $618.3 million in cash. That brought its treasury to approximately 34,797 BTC, valued at approximately $3.3 billion. It mined 717 BTC in October, which was its highest production since the halving in April.
Magazine: Bitcoin miners steamrolled after electricity thefts, exchange ‘closure’ scam