📈 Bitcoin in 2024

In 2024, Bitcoin showcased remarkable resilience and growth, cementing its role as a cornerstone of the financial world. The year was highlighted by Bitcoin's historic surge past $100,000, driven by increasing institutional adoption and renewed investor confidence. This milestone was supported by increasing institutional interest, including the approval of several spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States.

The iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) smashed industry records in 2024. In just 11 months, it grew to a behemoth with more than $50b in assets. No ETF has ever had a better debut.

El Salvador continued its Bitcoin-forward policies, leveraging BTC gains to fund public infrastructure and social programs, while Bhutan advanced its sovereign Bitcoin mining initiatives to strengthen its economy. In the corporate sector, companies like MicroStrategy expanded their holdings, setting a precedent for treasury diversification strategies.

The year also saw significant advancements in Bitcoin technology. The Taproot adoption rate soared, enabling enhanced privacy and scalability for Bitcoin transactions. Additionally, the Lightning Network reached a record high in capacity, signaling growing interest in Bitcoin's potential for microtransactions and real-world applications.

Despite these achievements, the industry faced notable challenges. Bitcoin mining grappled with reduced block rewards following the halving event, intensifying the focus on efficiency and renewable energy.

Countries like the U.S. and Canada introduced stricter energy usage regulations for miners, prompting innovative solutions such as the use of stranded energy and partnerships with renewable energy providers.

Bitcoin Runes and Ordinals demonstrated the blockchain's versatility, though the Runes protocol’s initial popularity waned. Meanwhile, Ordinals regained traction, highlighting the community’s enduring interest in creative applications of Bitcoin's underlying technology.

The year closed with Bitcoin reinforcing its position as the cornerstone of the crypto ecosystem. As global adoption deepens and regulatory frameworks mature, Bitcoin's performance in 2024 serves as a testament to its enduring role as a store of value, a technological marvel, and a symbol of financial sovereignty.

⛏️ In The News

• BitFuFu signed a two-year deal with Bitmain to purchase up to 80,000 high-performance Bitcoin miners.

• HIVE achieved a milestone of 6 EH/s in hashrate capacity, a 47% YoY growth, by upgrading its Bitcoin mining fleet with Avalon machines and securing competitive energy pricing in Sweden, with plans to reach 15 EH/s by the end of 2025.

• Hive Digital announced its headquarters relocation from Vancouver to Texas, citing the pro-Bitcoin policies of President-elect Donald Trump and Texas's supportive business environment and energy infrastructure as key factors.

• Bit Digital acquired a $24.2m site in Montreal for a 5MW Tier-3 data center powered by 100% renewable energy and secured a two-year, $20.2m MSA with DNA AI Compute Fund to provide 576 Nvidia H200 GPUs.

• Fred Thiel, MARA, advised retail investors to adopt a long-term "invest-and-forget" Bitcoin strategy on FOX Bussiness.

🎅 December Updates

🏃 Marathon

• MARA Holdings increased its energized hashrate by 15% to 53.2 EH/s in December, surpassing its year-end target of 50 EH/s and improving fleet efficiency to 20 J/TH.

• The company mined 249 blocks, the second-highest in a month, producing 890 BTC, which was a 2% decrease from November due to a slight dip in luck.

• MARAPool saw significant growth in 2024, with hashrate expanding by 168%, outpacing Bitcoin’s network growth of 49%.

• In 2024, MARA acquired 22,065 BTC at an average price of $87,205 and mined an additional 9,457 BTC, bringing total BTC holdings to 44,893, valued at $4.2b based on a spot price of $93,354 per BTC.

• The company loaned 7,377 BTC to third parties, generating additional returns, and the BTC yield per diluted share for 2024 was 62.7%.

• MARA's hybrid strategy of mining and purchasing BTC provides flexibility to capitalize on market conditions, allowing for optimized acquisition costs and lower-than-spot mining production costs.

🧑‍🌾 Bitfarms

• Bitfarms achieved a 97% YoY increase in operational hashrate, reaching 12.8 EH/s by December 31, 2024, while improving energy efficiency by 40% to 21 w/TH.

• The company earned 2,914 BTC in 2024, a 41% decrease YoY, due to higher network difficulty and lower BTC/terahash rates.

• Operational capacity grew by 35%, reaching 324 MW, including 256 MW of hydroelectric power, and the company is set to complete its acquisition of Stronghold Digital Mining in Q1 2025, expanding its U.S. presence.

• December's BTC production was 211, up 2% from November but down 53% YoY. The average operating hashrate for December was 11.1 EH/s, up 79% YoY and 4% MoM.

• The company sold 147 BTC in December, generating $14.3m, and increased its Bitcoin holdings to 934 BTC, valued at $87.8m.

• Bitfarms closed all its Synthetic HODL positions, realizing a 135% return and generating $18m in profits.

• The company ended the year with $147m in total liquidity, including $60m in cash, positioning it well for future growth and expansion.