Bitcoin mining used to be considered one of the most lucrative ways to earn money in the cryptocurrency industry. It was also niche enough that it was available only to a select group of IT experts. However, with the wide acceptance of crypto, the mining industry has also changed, and now it’s run by large corporations.
Public Bitcoin mining companies have demonstrated the need for increased investment in hardware, and their budgets reflect that fact. In this article, we’ll dive into the numbers reflecting that and try to offer explanations as to why it’s happening.
How Much Did Mining Companies Raise?
Bitcoin mining companies are making moves and raising funds throughout the year, with financial plans oriented towards growth and expansion in 2025. Companies raised as much as $5 billion over the course of 2024, mostly using loans and equity.
The biggest chunk of these funds will go towards property, plant, and equipment (PP&E). They’ll spend about $3.6 billion towards those goals. This shows that mining companies are focusing on modernizing and growing their operations. With the increased cost of equipment and training, such processes will take out a lot of the funds mining companies have at their disposal.
Better Equipment Means Better Hash Rates
An interesting statistic emerged during the Q3 of 2024. It showed that the rise in spending on PP&E matches the rise in the hash rate of the Bitcoin network. The rate peaked at 790 exahashes per second (EH/s) during this quarter.
For a few years now, experts have been trying to figure out if Bitcoin mining is profitable, and the experience shows that it is, as the increase in equipment cost generates improved results such as this. The industry is also very competitive, and such differences mean a lot for making a mining company stand out from the crowd.
Who’s providing the Equipment?
The leading company providing the equipment is called Bitmain. It produces ASIC mining computers, and it was the cause of controversy in Q3 of 2024. The company experienced shipping and transport issues, which caused a backlog and, therefore, left the whole mining industry without its tools for a while.
This has caused the public to seriously consider the issues that may arise from geopolitical tensions in Taiwan, where most of such equipment is produced. At this point, there’s no answer to what would happen to the industry if it’s not able to get the parts.
The Issue of Debt
It’s also important to note that a large amount of investments in mining equipment are covered via debt. It exploded as a means of investing in tech during 2024, and at this point, $500 million has been raised per quarter by different lenders.
Some claim that this shows that the industry is growing and that it’s ready to invest in its future. Others are worried about the share of debt in the industry’s overall finance since any disruption in the process can cause payment problems.
Focus on AI
Many working in the Bitcoin mining industry have had their plans focused on AI lately as a way to improve the mining process and make it more efficient. That’s why a lot of the equipment funds are going towards improving AI rather than mining itself.
AI companies are also cooperating with the mining industry in terms of sharing computing power. Both industries require a lot of computing power, and if there are ways to do both using the same resources, the process may become less expensive, but it’s a long way to go.
A Change in Regulations
The industry is also changing in terms of how it’s regulated. Not long ago, there were no regulations on mining at all, and small-time miners did it using home setups. However, now that mining is a huge industry and Bitcoin is widely used, processes have been put in place.
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) has come up with a new set of regulations requiring mining companies to register with the state. It’s an especially challenging request, as it limits which company can start mining based on how much electricity is spent.
The Biggest Players
For years now, crypto mining has required the most expensive equipment, and therefore, it’s something only publicly traded, often for which multi-billion dollar companies can pay. The biggest companies working in the field are:
Marathon Digital Holdings (NASDAQ: MARA)
MARA is the biggest company in the industry. The market capitalization of MARA at this point is about $6 billion. The company is trading at $20 per share. It’s also one of the most successful businesses in the field, with over 500 percent growth since the lowest point for the crypto industry.
CleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK)
CleanSparks is the second largest company in the industry, and it has a market capitalization of $3.7 billion. Unlike the other companies on the list, it’s one of the oldest ones in the industry, and it’s been around since 1987. The move towards crypto, however, has happened in the last couple of years.
Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ: RIOT)
Riot Blockchain is also an old company, at least in terms of the industry. It’s been around since 2003, but it has moved to cryptocurrencies since 2020, and over the years, it has turned itself into the third largest company in the industry. The market cap is $3.1 billion.
Cipher Mining (NASDAQ: CIFR)
Chipper Mining is the youngest company in the Bitcoin mining industry, and it has the smallest market capitalization at $1.7 billion. It’s also the only one that has worked on mining from the very start.
To Sum Up
Bitcoin mining has changed a lot in recent years. It’s not a multi-billion dollar industry run by a large publicly-traded company. These companies have invested billions in equipment for crypto mining as they are looking to expand and improve their output.
Crypto mining is still profitable, but now it requires even bigger investments than ever, and businesses are borrowing to meet those demands.