Bitcoin miners experienced declining production in January due to near-record-high network difficulty. Mining difficulty peaked at 110 trillion (T), a 27.8% increase since the halving in April 2024, before slightly dropping to 108T by the end of the month. This marked the first difficulty decline in nearly four months. Meanwhile, the Bitcoin network’s hash rate remained high, averaging 832 exahashes per second (EH/s), though the weekly moving average fell 2% to 781 EH/s.
Riot Platforms was among the few mining companies to increase output, producing 527 BTC in January. Its total Bitcoin holdings grew by 3% to 18,221 BTC, and its deployed hash rate reached 33.5 EH/s. Riot’s Corsicana Facility in Texas expanded to 15.7 EH/s, and the company earned $3.6 million in power credits, a 250% increase from the previous month. CEO Jason Les attributed this to newly deployed miners and improved energy management.
Marathon Digital (MARA) saw a 13% drop in Bitcoin production, mining 750 BTC, and reported a 12% decline in blocks won. The company maintained an energized hash rate of 53.2 EH/s, with no new miners deployed. It is nearing full transition to S21 Pro miners at its Nebraska facility to improve efficiency. Marathon also outlined plans for a near net-zero energy expansion, with further details expected soon.
Other mining firms also struggled. Hut 8’s Bitcoin production fell 27% to 65 BTC, while Bitfarms recorded a 4.7% decrease. Both companies have been upgrading their mining equipment to counteract rising difficulty. Hut 8 CEO Asher Genoot noted that infrastructure upgrades are nearly complete and should boost production.
The broader mining sector saw modest shifts. In January, the Bitcoin network hash rate increased by 1% to 785 EH/s, while mining difficulty dropped 2%, easing some pressure on miners. Despite this, the difficulty remains 25% higher than pre-halving levels. The market capitalization of Bitcoin mining firms rose 5%, with Cipher Mining and Riot Platforms leading with 23% and 16% gains, respectively.
Miners are adjusting strategies in response to changing conditions. Riot Platforms revised its 2025 hash rate target from 46.7 EH/s to 38.4 EH/s and hired Altman Solon to explore AI and high-performance computing (HPC) applications at its Corsicana site, where 600 MW of power remains available. Bitfarms signed an $85 million agreement with HIVE to sell its unfinished 200 MW Paraguay mine, redirecting funds to its 1-gigawatt U.S. expansion, which includes Bitcoin and AI/HPC projects.
A slowdown in hardware purchases is also affecting market dynamics. Institutional mining firms had increased hardware investments in late 2023, driving hash rate growth after the halving. However, this trend reversed in mid-2024, with fewer WhatsMiner, Avalon, and Antminer units shipped to the U.S. The decline in new hardware acquisitions may help stabilize mining difficulty in the months ahead.
