Bitfarms, a cryptocurrency mining company, experienced a significant decline in revenue during May, marking the first full month since the Bitcoin halving occurred in mid-April. According to Bitfarms’ report on June 3, the company’s Bitcoin production dropped from 263 Bitcoin (BTC) valued at $18.1 million in April to 156 Bitcoin worth $10.7 million in May. Bitfarms referred to May as the “first full month with post-halving economics.” Additionally, the average amount of Bitcoin earned by Bitfarms per unit of computational power decreased by 45%, falling from 44 exahashes per second (EH/s) to 24 EH/s.
The Bitcoin halving event in April led to a reduction in the Bitcoin mining subsidy from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC, which put financial pressure on miners, including Bitfarms. Bitfarms attributed part of the decline in Bitcoin production to “unusually cold temperatures” at its Rio Cuarto facility in Argentina. The extreme weather conditions, considered the worst in 44 years by Bitfarms, forced the company to suspend its mining operations in Rio Cuarto for eight days.
Bitfarms did note that the negative impact in Argentina was partially offset by a 4.2% decrease in network difficulty compared to April. In May, Bitfarms also entered into a power purchase agreement with Paraguay’s state-owned entity, Administración Nacional de Electricidad, securing an additional 100 megawatts at its Yguazu site. This agreement will double the site’s capacity to 200 megawatts and potentially add 6 exahashes per second (EH/s) upon installation in 2025.
Currently, Bitfarms’ installed hash rate stands at 9.5 EH/s, making it the fifth largest in the industry according to Hashrate Index data, behind Marathon Digital, Core Scientific, CleanSpark, and Riot Platforms. Bitfarms anticipates a further increase in its hash rate with the arrival of 16,200 Bitcoin miners, which will raise the hash rate to 12 EH/s once installed. The company also operates mining operations in the U.S. and Canada.
Despite the 42% decline in Bitcoin production, Bitfarms’ stock (BITF) experienced a 2.92% increase on the Nasdaq on June 3, as reported by Google Finance. However, BITF’s performance in 2024 has seen a 15.9% decline after a successful 2023 that saw the company’s stock rise by 588%.