Mining profitability surged in December as bitcoin’s price rally outpaced the rise in network hashrate, according to Jefferies’ latest research report. U.S.-listed bitcoin miners collectively represented 25.3% of the global network during the month.
The report also noted that Jefferies lowered its price target for MARA Holdings (MARA) to $20 from $24, maintaining a “hold” rating on the stock. Despite this adjustment, MARA’s shares saw a slight increase of 0.5%, reaching $18.43 in early Friday trading.
Bitcoin’s average price climbed by 15% in December, contributing to the improved mining profitability. This growth exceeded the 6.5% increase in the network’s hashrate, which measures the combined computational power used to mine and process bitcoin transactions, as well as the overall competition and difficulty in the industry.
Jefferies also reported that the average daily revenue per exahash was $59,585, marking a 7.1% increase compared to November.
In terms of bitcoin production, U.S.-listed mining companies collectively mined 3,602 BTC in December, up from 3,404 BTC in November. MARA led the pack with the most bitcoin mined, totaling 890 BTC, followed by CleanSpark (CLSK) with 668 BTC.
MARA retained the largest installed hashrate in the industry at 53.2 exahashes per second (EH/s), while CleanSpark held the second-largest with 39.1 EH/s.
