TeraWulf’s Bitcoin Mining Slumps in Q2 As Bitdeer Makes Gains

Key Takeaways:

• TeraWulf reports a 21% decline in Bitcoin mined.
• Many Bitcoin miners face increased costs and network difficulty post-April 2024 Bitcoin halving.
• Bitdeer sees a 50% year-over-year increase in gross profits, doubling in-house Bitcoin mining capacity.

Major cryptocurrency mining firms have reported mixed results for the second quarter (Q2) of 2024 following the April 2024 Bitcoin Halving event, which reduced miners' rewards to 3.125 BTC from 6.25 BTC. 

To this end, many miners had to find new ways to survive. Despite the challenges, prominent miners like TeraWulf, Bitdeer, and Argo Blockchain are finding new opportunities in the changing cryptocurrency market.

Mixed Fortunes for Bitcoin Miners Post-halving

TeraWulf released its Q2 2024 earnings report on August 2, revealing a 21% year-over-year decline in Bitcoin mined. The company produced 699 Bitcoin during the quarter, down from the previous year's figures. 

TeraWulf's Second Quarter 2024 Financial Results 🐺

🔵 Q2 2024 Revenue of $35.6 million, gross profit (exclusive of depreciation) of $21.7 million and Non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA of $19.5 million
🔵 Revenue growth of 130.2% year-over-year for the three-month period ended June 30,…

— TeraWulf (@TeraWulfInc) August 12, 2024

Despite the decline, TeraWulf slightly beat revenue expectations, reporting $35.6 million against a consensus estimate of $35.4 million. 

However, the firm fell short on earnings, posting a loss of $0.03 per share compared to the anticipated $0.02 loss.

The report highlighted a 243% year-over-year increase in Bitcoin mining costs, jumping from $6,688 per Bitcoin in Q2 2023 to $22,954 in Q2 2024.

TeraWulf attributed this sharp rise to the “approximate doubling” of network difficulty and the impact of the recent Bitcoin halving event.

In contrast, Bitdeer Technologies Group reported more positive results on August 12. The company saw a 50% year-over-year increase in gross profits for Q2 2024, reaching $24.4 million compared to $16.2 million in the same period last year. 

Some highlights of Bitdeer's unaudited financial and operational results for Q2 2024.

-Revenue of US$99.2 million, up 5.8% YoY.
-Gross profit of US$24.4 million, up 50.6% YoY.
-Adjusted EBITDA of US$24.9 million, up 33.2% YoY.

Read the full report here: https://t.co/58RYJVgj0I… pic.twitter.com/CVWwz3q7bA

— Bitdeer (@BitdeerOfficial) August 12, 2024

This growth was largely driven by Bitdeer nearly doubling its in-house Bitcoin mining capacity from 3.8 exahashes per second (EH/s) to 7.3 EH/s.

Bitdeer's chief business officer, Matt Kong, emphasized the company's achievement, stating, “We achieved these results despite significant growth in the global network hash rate and the April 2024 halving.” 

The total Bitcoin network hashrate has nearly doubled in the past year, currently at 677.43 EH/s.

Argo Blockchain Repays Major Loan As Bitcoin Miners Venture into AI and HPC

Argo Blockchain, another key player in the Bitcoin mining industry, announced a significant milestone on August 12. The company successfully repaid a $35 million loan borrowed from asset manager Galaxy Digital in 2022, which had been crucial in helping Argo avoid bankruptcy during the crypto bear market that year.

New RNS: Argo has fully repaid its $35 million loan from Galaxy Digital Holdings ahead of schedule.

The repayment was achieved using cash flow from operations, equity raises, and non-core asset sales, with no significant impact on Argo’s hash rate. This move reflects our focus…

— Argo (@ArgoBlockchain) August 12, 2024

Argo CEO Thomas Chippas highlighted the importance of this repayment, noting that it was accomplished “without any meaningful impact to Argo's hashrate.” 

The loan had been collateralized by 23,619 Bitmain S19J Pro mining machines operating at the Helios facility in Texas and other machines in Argo's Canadian data centers.

As the Bitcoin mining landscape continues to evolve post-halving, companies are exploring new avenues for growth and sustainability. 

TeraWulf, for instance, has committed to expanding into high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence in the second half of 2024. The company has begun constructing a new building at its Lake Mariner facility, expected to add 50 MW of infrastructure capacity by Q1 2025.