Marathon Digital blames weather conditions for mining 21% less Bitcoin in June

Bitcoin mining company Marathon Digital has linked the recent slump in its total amount of Bitcoin’s (BTC) mined in June to the weather conditions in Texas and a drop in transaction fees.

According to a July 5 statement, Marathon Digital experienced a “21%” decline in June for the total amount of Bitcoin mined compared to the previous month of May. 

The primary reason cited for the decline of production in June – which saw 979 Bitcoin produced throughout the month – was the impact of the weather conditions in Texas, where Marathon’s main operations are located. 

“The decreased production relative to last month was due to weather-related curtailment in Texas and a significant decrease in transaction fees.”

It’s worth noting that June marks the transition from spring to summer in Texas. 

According to data from the National Weather Service in Dallas, Texas, there was a jump of almost 8.4 degrees Fahrenheit in the average temperature between May and June. May averaged 75.6 degrees Fahrenheit, whereas June averaged 84 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cointelegraph previously reported on Feb 6 that crypto mining firm Riot Platforms saw 17,040 rigs go offline at its operations in Texas due to “severe winter weather” in the state.

It was further explained that Marathon Digital’s transaction fees fell to approximately “5.1%” of the total Bitcoin earned in June, compared to “11.8%” earned in May.

It was noted that the “emergence” of Bitcoin Ordinals significantly increased transaction fees in May, adding that while network congestion eased in June, the company still has a positive outlook for the “future of mining economics.”

Related: Heating a home with a Bitcoin miner: Staying warm with sats

This is not the first time that weather this time of year in Texas has had a major impact on crypto miners.

In July 2022, Peter Wall, CEO of crypto mining company Argo Blockchain, which operates a data center in West Texas, told Cointelegraph that ERCOT sent out a conservation alert forcing Argo along with many other mining operators in the area had to temporarily shut down mining activities.

In more recent news, a report released on July 5 by cryptocurrency analytics platform Coin Metrics revealed that Bitcoin miners made $184 million from transaction fees in the second quarter of 2023, which is more than they made throughout the entire year of 2022.

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