Bitcoin mining profitability improved in December as the price of bitcoin saw a notable increase, outpacing the rise in network hashrate. According to Jefferies’ latest report, U.S.-listed bitcoin miners accounted for 25.3% of the global network hashrate during the month.
Jefferies also reduced its price target for MARA Holdings (MARA) to $20 from $24 but maintained a “hold” rating on the stock. The shares saw a modest 0.5% uptick to $18.43 in early Friday trading.
The surge in bitcoin’s price, which gained 15% in December, played a crucial role in boosting mining profitability. In contrast, the network’s hashrate saw a more modest increase of 6.5%. The hashrate is a key measure of the total computational power used to mine bitcoin and process transactions.
The average daily revenue for miners increased by 7.1% to $59,585 per exahash compared to the previous month, according to Jefferies.
In total, U.S.-listed bitcoin miners produced 3,602 bitcoins in December, up from 3,404 in November. MARA led the way with 890 BTC mined, followed by CleanSpark (CLSK) with 668 BTC.
MARA retained the largest installed hashrate in the industry, with 53.2 exahashes per second (EH/s), while CleanSpark had the second-largest hashrate with 39.1 EH/s.
