Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) has entered into an agreement with affiliates of Hut8 Mining Corp. to remove Hut8 (HUT) as the operator of two Bitcoin mining sites recently acquired by Marathon in Granbury, Texas and Kearney, Nebraska. Marathon intends to replace Hut8 as the operator of these sites by April 30, 2024.
On January 16, 2024, Marathon closed its previously announced acquisition of two Bitcoin mining sites, totaling 390 megawatts of operational capacity. While Marathon assumed ownership of both sites, Hut8 continued to function as the operator. On January 30, 2024, subsidiaries of Marathon and Hut8 entered into an agreement to terminate Hut8 as the operator of these sites and transition the operational responsibilities to Marathon.
By removing Hut8 as the third-party operator and assuming direct operational control of both sites, Marathon expects to reduce its operating fees, thereby improving its cost to produce bitcoin, to more effectively participate in energy hedging and other energy management services, and to streamline the implementation of its proprietary technology to improve operational efficiency. The transition is expected to be completed by April 30, 2024, at which point, Marathon will be both the owner and operator of 390 megawatts of capacity in Texas and Nebraska.
“By operating the sites in Granbury and Kearney ourselves, we will be able to fully recognize the operational and economic benefits of owning these assets,” said Fred Thiel, Marathon’s chairman and CEO. “The consistent performance of our site in Abu Dhabi along with the immense improvements our team made to King Mountain’s uptime last year, clearly demonstrate that Marathon has some of the best operators in the industry. We look forward to gaining more influence over our new sites in Texas and Nebraska and leveraging our operational expertise to realize the full benefits of our recent acquisition.”