Bitfarms, a cryptocurrency mining company, experienced a significant drop in revenue in May, marking the first full month since the Bitcoin halving occurred in mid-April. The company reported a decrease in Bitcoin production, falling from 263 Bitcoin (worth $18.1 million) in April to 156 Bitcoin (worth $10.7 million) in May. Bitfarms referred to this period as the “first full month with post-halving economics” in a statement on June 3. Additionally, the average amount of Bitcoin earned per unit of computational power also declined by 45%, dropping from 44 exahashes per second (EH/s) to 24 EH/s.
The Bitcoin halving event, which took place on April 20, resulted in the reduction of the Bitcoin mining subsidy from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. This change put a financial strain on miners, including Bitfarms. The company also attributed the fall in Bitcoin production to “unusually cold temperatures” at its Rio Cuarto facility in Argentina. The severe weather conditions, described as the worst in 44 years, forced Bitfarms to curtail its mining operations in Rio Cuarto for eight days.
However, Bitfarms mentioned that the damage caused by the weather in Argentina was partially offset by a 4.2% decrease in network difficulty compared to April. In May, Bitfarms also secured an additional 100 megawatts at its Yguazu site in Paraguay through a power purchase agreement with Paraguay’s state-owned entity, Administración Nacional de Electricidad. This agreement will double the site’s capacity to 200 megawatts and has the potential to add 6 EH/s upon installation in 2025.
Currently, Bitfarms has an installed hash rate of 9.5 EH/s, making it the fifth largest in the industry, according to Hashrate Index data. The company expects its hash rate to increase to 12 EH/s once it installs another 16,200 Bitcoin miners. Bitfarms operates mining operations in the U.S. and Canada as well.
Despite the 42% decrease in Bitcoin production, Bitfarms saw a 2.92% increase in its Nasdaq stock price on June 3, according to Google Finance. However, the company’s stock is still down 15.9% in 2024, following a successful 2023 where its stock rose by 588%.