BTC miner Marathon Digital records $686M loss in 2022, revenue down 58%

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Marathon Digital (NASDAQ: MARA) recorded a $686 million loss in 2022, the BTC block reward mining company revealed in its recently-released financial results.

Marathon Digital Holdings has published its financial and operational results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2022. Read the full report here: https://t.co/ZwNCPdnxhL

— MARA (@MarathonDH) March 16, 2023

In the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022, the company’s net loss hit $686.7 million, a drastic rise from the $37.1 million loss it recorded the year prior. The company attributed the loss to a $332.9 million impairment charge related to the carrying value of its mining rigs. It also lost $317.6 million to declines in the carrying value of its digital assets as BTC shed two-thirds of its value towards the end of 2022.

Marathon also revealed it lost $55.7 million to the bankruptcy of Compute North. As CoinGeek reported, the data center and hosting company served some of the industry’s biggest players, including Marathon and HIVE Blockchain (NASDAQ: HIVE). It went belly up in September, blaming the bear market and rising energy costs.

In Q4 last year, Marathon’s revenue dipped by 58% to $28.4 million, way below the $38.4 million analysts predicted two weeks ago when the company was expected to make an earnings call. However, it postponed the call, citing accounting errors.

“2022 was a difficult year to be a Bitcoin miner,” Fred Thiel, the Marathon CEO and chairman commented.

Thiel added that despite the headwinds, the company managed to double its hash rate to 7 exahashes, and in Q4, it set a record with 1,562 BTC mined.

“We have two primary goals for 2023: the first is to energize our previously purchased mining rigs to reach our target of 23 exahashes by the middle of this year, and the second is to optimize our performance – to become more effective and more efficient,” he added.

The financial results come amid legal action by Los Angeles-based law firm Frank Cruz which accuses the company of violating federal securities laws. By postponing the earnings call, the company sparked a stock price dip that injured investors, the law firm says.

Collapsed banks impact block reward miners

Marathon was one of the many digital asset companies impacted by the recent collapse of three Bitcoin-friendly banks. Earlier this week, the company reassured its investors that its cash deposits at collapsed Signature Bank were secure and available.

The company has $142 million in deposits at Signature Bridge Bank, the entity created by the Fed to give Signature Bank (NASDAQ: SBNY) users access to their assets as prospective buyers weigh purchasing the bank’s assets.

“The Company has access to its funds for treasury management purposes and is paying all invoices in the normal course of business. Additionally, Marathon continues to hold over 11,000 BTC, which the Company believes provides it financial optionality that extends beyond the traditional banking system,” it stated.

It also confirmed that it had no relationship with Silicon Valley Bank, the biggest of the three collapsed lenders. SVB served several VASPs, including USDC issuer Circle, BAYC NFT collection maker Yuga Labs, digital asset VC firm Pantera Capital, Avalanche, and Ripple.

Marathon was exposed to the third lender to collapse in the past month: Silvergate Bank. The miner revealed on March 8 that it had terminated its credit facilities with the lender. By repaying its loan, it had freed up over 3,000 BTC worth $75 million, which the bank held as collateral.

While its revenue has taken a big hit, Marathon is one of the few major BTC miners that have managed to stay afloat following the 2022 contagion and consequent bear market. Others, like Core Scientific (NASDAQ: CORZW), crumbled as creditors came calling.

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