By Frank Martin (MoneyAmped.com)
On Thursday, US crypto miner CleanSpark announced it had increased its Bitcoin holding to 10,097 BTC, becoming the fourth-largest Bitcoin holder among crypto mining companies. According to the firm’s CEO, Zach Bradford, the miner’s Bitcoin treasury has expanded by 236% since the start of 2024.
Notably, CleanSpark’s entire BTC holding was mined in the United States. Bradford says the move aligns with the company’s mission to create jobs for Americans while actively contributing to the growth of the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Which Miners Hold Over 10k Bitcoin?
CleanSpark now joins Hut 8 Mining, MARA Holdings, and Riot Platforms as the only Bitcoin miners to hold over 10,000 BTC, according to data from BitcoinTreasuries.NET.
Over the years, these miners have been selling massive portions of their Bitcoin to pay employees, finance purchases of new machines, and cover maintenance costs. However, MARA Holdings and CleanSpark have taken a different approach since last year. In March 2024, MARA Holdings implemented policies that would allow the firm to retain almost all mined Bitcoin. CleanSpark, on the other hand, only sold 12 Bitcoin in December despite mining over 660 coins. The Bradford-led company mined more than 7,000 Bitcoin last year and sold less than 100 coins.
Enhanced Hashrate Helps CleanSpark Increase Its Bitcoin Production
It is worth mentioning that CleanSpark began 2024 with roughly 2,300 BTC in its treasury and was able to increase its holding four times. Bradford attributes the increased production to boosted operating hashrate, which grew to 39 exahashes per second from 27 in the previous year.
Despite increased mining activity, CleanSpark’s stock CLSK failed to attract investors last year based on its declining price performance. According to data from Google Finance, CLSK ended 2024 with a 16% loss. Additionally, it has dropped by 5.4% in the past 24 hours to $10.08 as of this writing.
Who Mined the Most Bitcoin in December?
According to data from Farside Investors, MARA Holdings mined the most BTC (890 coins) last month, followed by CleanSpark, which minted 668 Bitcoin. IREN and Riot Platforms mined 507 and 502 Bitcoin, respectively. Meanwhile, Bitdeer produced 145 Bitcoin as Bit Digital saw its monthly BTC production plummet to 32 coins.
