The Cointelegraph Research Terminal, the leading provider of premium databases and institutional-grade research on blockchain and digital assets, has added a new report to its growing library. The latest document looks at a particular group of players in the Bitcoin (BTC) mining industry. Published by consultancy Crypto Oxygen, the report highlights the current landscape of publicly traded cryptocurrency mining companies that control roughly 17% of the total hash rate of the entire Bitcoin network.
The cryptocurrency mining industry is a rapidly growing and evolving sector. In January this year, a US-based company, Core Scientific, went public through a merger of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), becoming the largest publicly traded cryptocurrency mining company in the world. in terms of revenue and hash rate. LCore Scientific hash rate leads all public companies with 8.3 exahashes per second (Eh/s), and mined 5,769 BTC in 2021, generating some $545 million in revenue. In second and third place in terms of revenue are Riot Blockchain and Hive Blockchain Technologies, earning $215 million and $195 million, respectively.
Strategic, operational and financial breakdown
Hash rate and revenue are just a few ways to distinguish between companies, but they don’t paint the full picture, as some firms have revenue models separate from their core mining activity. The report dissects those key statistics and offers a more detailed comparison, covering the strategic, operational and financial results of each company.
Download the full report, with charts and infographics from the Cointelegraph Research Terminal
For example, the report compares the operations of each company through the current hash rate per US dollar invested. This makes it easier to see which company offers the most investment value to investors, which, in the case of this metric, is Stronghold Digital Mining with 46.56 gigahashes per second (GH/s) to lead the pack.
Aside from this, the report also provides a quick snapshot of each company’s operations, including each company’s operational key performance indicators (KPIs), business model, data center locations, BTC holdings, and other pertinent information.
Specifically, major players like Marathon have lean setups and are entirely reliant on being hosted by third-party providers, while others like Stronghold own assets along with the entire value chain, including electrical infrastructure.
Instead of relying solely on financial reports and public statements, Crypto Oxygen has also conducted a survey to include the direct opinions of the analyzed companies in their research.
Sustainability
One of the main concerns of Bitcoin mining, in general, has to do with Environmental, Social and Governance, or ESG. Sustainability has always been a central talking point when it comes to the cryptocurrency mining industry, with publicly traded companies particularly subject to increased scrutiny. However, it appears that the companies in the report are focused on limiting the carbon footprint of their operations, despite differences in approach.
Of the 12 companies, eight are already carbon neutral or have environmentally beneficial operations. Bitfarms, Hive, Iris Energy and Argo are four companies that rely exclusively on renewable energy sources. Northern Data, Core Scientific and Greenidge Generation use offset credits to reduce their carbon footprint. Marathon Digital Holdings and Hut 8 Mining are also already using carbon offset credits and aim to be carbon neutral by the end of 2022, while 67% of Bit Digital’s energy source comes from renewable sources.
indirect exposure
Investing in public cryptocurrency mining companies offers investors exposure to the cryptocurrency space, albeit not as directly as holding Bitcoin. The report underlines the correlation between the share prices of mining companies and the price of BTC, and the recent drop in the price of BTC proves it.. It also shows that larger BTC holdings tend to be a key factor in the decline.
However, share prices of mining companies have fallen disproportionately. What the 46-page report offers is an analysis of the performance of each public mining company and presents a detailed comparison of each to help bring more clarity to the players involved in the development space and the industry in general. For those interested in reading the full report, download it by visiting the Cointelegraph Research Terminal.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not represent investment advice, investment analysis, or an invitation to buy or sell financial instruments. Specifically, the document is not intended as a substitute for individual investment or other advice.
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