🌍️ Bitcoin’s Cross-Border Impact

A recent study by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), authored by Raphael Auer, Ulf Lewrick, and Jan Paulick, explores how Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies are used across borders and what drives their global movement.

Using data from 184 countries between 2017 and 2024, the study finds that cross-border BTC flows peaked at over $1 trillion in 2021 and remain substantial, with the U.S., U.K., Russia, Türkiye, and South Korea as key hubs.

In the first half of 2024, cross-border Bitcoin activity was concentrated among a mix of advanced and emerging economies (figure 2). The United States and United Kingdom remained dominant senders and receivers, reflecting their roles as global financial hubs. At the same time, countries like Türkiye and Russia saw substantial BTC outflows, highlighting Bitcoin’s growing role in markets facing inflation, currency instability, or geopolitical constraints.

The authors identify two primary drivers of Bitcoin flows. First, speculative dem

and, BTC volumes rise with financial market volatility, confirming its role as a high-risk investment asset increasingly tied to global financial conditions.

Second, Bitcoin is actively used for small, cross-border payments, particularly in corridors where remittances through traditional channels are costly. Low-value BTC transactions (under $500) are especially prominent between advanced and emerging economies.

Importantly, the study shows that BTC flows are far less affected by geographic distance, shared borders, or capital controls than traditional financial flows. In fact, capital flow restrictions often coincide with increased Bitcoin activity, suggesting it is used to circumvent financial regulations.

The BIS concludes that Bitcoin is becoming both a speculative asset and a practical tool for global money movement. Its ability to "defy gravity" - moving freely across jurisdictions—challenges traditional policy frameworks and calls for new approaches to regulating international crypto activity.

🧡 Bitcoin Set to Transcend "Digital Gold" - Dan Held

On the Clear Crypto podcast, Dan Held suggests that Bitcoin is on the cusp of moving beyond its established "digital gold" narrative, potentially unlocking broader functionalities and attracting a new wave of users.

He highlights the current favorable political climate in the United States, with an openly supportive administration, a stark contrast to previous negative portrayals of Bitcoin.

Held also explores the possibility of building decentralized finance (DeFi) tools on the Bitcoin network, traditionally associated with other blockchains, which could enable use cases like borrowing, lending, and staking, thereby expanding Bitcoin's utility beyond simple holding and trading.

While acknowledging the historical tension between Bitcoin purists and those open to innovation, Held emphasizes that this new evolution involves building on top of Bitcoin's existing framework without altering its fundamental rules.

🗞️ In the News

• MARA nearly tripled its BTC holdings over the past year to $4.9b, although its Q1 revenue slightly missed Wall Street estimates.

• Hive is expanding its operations in Paraguay, viewing the country as a stable, long-term partner for low-cost, clean energy.

• Diversified Energy is facing criticism for allegedly abandoning a natural gas-powered mining site in Pennsylvania without plugging wells, leading to regulatory violations and concerns about its environmental responsibilities.

🩺 Miner April Update

🏃 MARA

• In April, MARA mined 705 BTC, a 15% decrease MoM from 829 BTC. Their share of available miner rewards was 5.1%, and transaction fees accounted for 1.3% of their total earnings, consistent with the previous month.

• MARA’s BTC production decreased by 15% MoM, even though their energized hashrate grew by 5.5% over the previous month.

• They completed a 50 MW expansion at their Ohio data center, bringing the total operational capacity to 100 MW with plans to scale up to 200 MW, and they installed over 12,000 S21 Pro miners at this location. Additionally, their 25 MW gas-to-power operations in North Dakota and Texas are now fully energized.

• These gas-to-power sites are currently providing Mara with their lowest cost per BTC mined while also monetizing excess gas and reducing methane emissions.

🪖 Riot

• Riot produced 463 BTC in April 2025, a 13% decrease MoM but a 23% increase YoY, with an average daily production of 15.4 BTC. The company held 19,211 BTC as of month-end and sold 475 BTC in April for net proceeds of $38.8m.

• In April, Riot's total deployed hashrate remained steady at 33.7 EH/s, showing a significant 168% increase compared to April 2024. The average operating hash rate was 29.3 EH/s, a 3% decrease from March but a substantial 234% increase from the previous year.

• Riot closed the acquisition of Rhodium's tangible assets at their Rockdale Facility, gaining 125 MW of power capacity and ending all litigation, which also marked their complete exit from the Bitcoin mining hosting business.

• The company strategically sold its April BTC production to fund growth and operations, aiming to strengthen its balance sheet and reduce the need for equity fundraising.

• The company generated $2.0m in total power credits in April, a 131% increase from March and a 6% increase YoY. Riot's all-in power cost was 3.7c/kWh, and their fleet efficiency remained at 21.0 J/TH, a 22% improvement from April 2024.

🧼 CleanSpark

• CleanSpark produced 633 BTC in April 2025, bringing their total holdings to over 12,100, and their month-end operating hashrate reached 42.4 EH/s.

• The company's average hashrate for the month was 40.1 EH/s, with an average fleet efficiency of 16.98 J/Th, resulting in an average daily production of 21.1 BTC.

• CleanSpark evolved its capital strategy in April, securing a $200m revolving credit facility with Coinbase and monetizing a portion of their BTC production to fund monthly operations.

• They sold 401.39 BTC at an average price exceeding $90,000, demonstrating their ability to self-fund operations and manage liquidity effectively.

• The company is on track to achieve 50 EH/s by mid-year, with construction in Tennessee and Wyoming nearing completion.

🐝 HIVE

• The company produced 102 BTC in April 2025, which averages out to 3.4 BTC per day or 15.8 BTC produced per EH.

• HIVE's hashrate surpassed 7 EH/s, marking a 10% increase from the previous month's peak. This growth is attributed to the initial energization of their 100 MW hydro-powered facility in Paraguay.

• HIVE is rapidly expanding its operations in Paraguay, leveraging both acquired infrastructure and their own buildout, aiming to add about 1 EH/s of capacity monthly, with plans to accelerate to 1 EH/s every two weeks as new hardware arrives. They are on track to meet their Phase 1 target of 11.5 EH/s by the end of June 2025.

• Construction for Phase 2 in Paraguay is progressing, which will utilize Bitmain S21+ Hydro ASIC miners and Hydro AntSpace containers, with the first containers expected to arrive in early June. This second 100 MW phase is projected to add an additional 6.5 EH/s, bringing HIVE's total hashrate to approximately 18 EH/s by the end of summer.

• HIVE is also developing its Valenzuela site for an additional 100 MW of air-cooled containers, with the ramp-up expected between August and November. This expansion aims to position HIVE to surpass 25 EH/s in global hashrate, establishing them as one of the world's largest Bitcoin miners.

• For the three months ending March 31, 2025, HIVE issued over 25 million common shares through its at-the-market offering, generating gross proceeds of $67.4m. The net proceeds from this offering are intended for the purchase of data center equipment, strategic investments, and general working capital.

🦘 Cango

• Cango produced 470 BTC in April 2025, a decrease from the 530.1 BTC produced in March, resulting in an average daily production of 15.7 BTC.

• As of the end of April, the company held a total of 2,944.8 BTC.

• In April, Cango maintained a deployed hashrate of 32 EH/s, consistent with the previous month, while the average operating hashrate was 29.9 EH/s, slightly lower than March's 30.3 EH/s.

• The company did not report selling any BTC during the month.

👁️ IREN

• In April, IREN's average operating hashrate was 36.6 EH/s, which resulted in 3,579 BTC mined and revenue of $50.1m. The electricity cost per BTC was ($24,381), leading to a hardware profit of $36.0m and a profit margin of 72%.

• IREN increased its mining capacity to 40 EH/s in April and is on track to reach 50 EH/s by the end of June, with new miners expected to ship from Southeast Asia.

• The AI Cloud Services generated $2.0m in revenue in April, with electricity costs of ($0.04m) and a hardware profit of $2.0m, yielding a profit margin of 98%.

• IREN's Horizon 1 AI Data Center project remains on schedule for delivery in the second half of 2025.

• IREN highlights its strong mining margins due to efficient operations (15 J/TH) and low power costs (2.9c/kWh in Childress).

• The company anticipates an Illustrative Adjusted EBITDA of $588m at 50 EH/s based on current mining economics, and its AI Cloud Services has an annualized revenue run-rate of $28m with near full fleet utilization.

📆 Miner Q1 Reports

🛖 Hut8

• In Q1 2025, Hut 8 mined 167 BTC, with a cost to mine of $58,757 per BTC, and a weighted average revenue per BTC mined of $92,224. The company's energy cost per MWh was $51.71, and its strategic BTC reserve increased to 10,264 BTC by the end of the quarter.

• Hut 8 reported first-quarter 2025 revenue of $21.8m, a decrease YoY, with a net loss of $134.3m and an Adjusted EBITDA of ($117.7)m, reflecting a period of significant investment.

• The company's ASIC fleet upgrade led to a 79% increase in hashrate and a 37% improvement in fleet efficiency compared to the previous quarter.

• The company's operational energy capacity has reached 1,020 MW, with the potential for further expansion by an additional 2,600 MW, signaling significant growth plans.

• American Bitcoin, a majority-owned subsidiary, aims to become a leading Bitcoin miner and build a substantial BTC reserve, with potential plans for a future IPO to raise capital.

• Hut 8 is progressing with its 2025 plans, including energizing the Vega data center and developing its utility-scale power portfolio, anticipating stronger cash flows and market leadership.

🐺 TeraWulf

• TeraWulf's Q1 2025 revenue was $34.4m, down YoY, with a cost of revenue (excluding depreciation) of $24.6m. The company's self-mining capacity grew to 12.2 EH/s, a 52.5% increase YoY.

• TeraWulf self-mined 372 BTC at its Lake Mariner facility, with a total value of $34.4m. The power cost per BTC was $66,084.

• The company is progressing with its HPC strategy, commencing the buildout of dedicated data halls for Core42 and aiming for 72.5 MW of gross HPC hosting infrastructure delivery in 2025, with a longer-term target of 200-250 MW operational by the end of 2026. TeraWulf energized Miner Building 5, bringing total capacity to 245 MW.

• As of March 31, 2025, TeraWulf held $219.6m in cash and BTC holdings and repurchased $33m of its common stock in 2025. The company also initiated a process to secure additional HPC customers and approved a new $200m ATM equity offering program and a refreshed $200m stock repurchase program.

🧑‍🔬 Core Scientific

• Total revenue decreased to $79.5m from $179.3m YoY. Self-mining gross profit fell sharply to $6.0m (9% margin) from $68.4m (46% margin) due to lower BTC production and the colocation shift, while hosted mining profit also declined for similar reasons, though with substantial power cost savings.

• Core Scientific reported an operating loss of $42.6m, a swing from the previous year's $55.2m profit, and adjusted EBITDA was negative at $(6.1)m, down from $88.0m, reflecting lower revenues and increased expenses related to their expanding colocation business.

• The decrease in mining revenue was attributed to the halving and a strategic shift towards high-performance computing (HPC) hosting for artificial intelligence.

• As part of its pivot to HPC, Core Scientific secured a $1.2b data center expansion deal with AI startup CoreWeave and anticipates $360m in annualized colocation revenue by 2026.

CleanSpark (Q2)

• CleanSpark reported quarterly revenues of $181.7m, a 62.5% increase YoY. The company produced 1,957 BTC during the quarter, with an average revenue per coin of $92,811.

• For the quarter ending March 31, 2025, CleanSpark experienced a net loss of ($138.8m) compared to a net income of $126.7m in the same period the previous year, and Adjusted EBITDA decreased to ($57.8m) from $181.8m.

• By the end of the quarter, CleanSpark held $97.0m in cash and $979.6m in BTC.

• CleanSpark highlighted its focus on being a pure-play Bitcoin miner, its infrastructure-first approach, and its leadership in treasury management and non-dilutive financing, including an expanded revolving line with Coinbase.

• The company reaffirmed its target of reaching 50 EH/s in June and emphasized its disciplined cost control and strategic expansion without relying on dilutive capital.