BTC is up 113% this year, while only 7 of the 25 listed mining companies have achieved positive returns

As of December 24, Bitcoin is up 113% in 2024. According to data from the Hash Rate Index and Google Finance, most listed mining companies are in a downward trend at the end of 2024, with a drop of up to 84%. Of the 25 listed mining companies in the index, only 7 have achieved positive returns. As of press time, Bitdeer (BTDR) is up 167%, Cipher (CIFR) is up 33%, Hut 8 (HUT) is up 91%, Iris Energy (IREN) is up 72%, Northern Data (NB2) is up 58%, Core Scientific (CORZQ) is up 327%, and TeraWulf (WULF) is up 169%. On the other hand, Argo Blockchain (ARB) fell 84%, followed by Sphere 3D (ANY) at 69%, MARA Holdings (MARA) at 12%, Hive (HIVE) at 29%, Greenidge (GREE) at 74%, Bitfarms (BITF) at 44%, and BitFufu (FUFU) at 18% (to name a few). Overall, 2024 was a year of adaptation for Bitcoin miners as they dealt with reduced rewards and increased costs, and sought new sources of revenue to stay afloat. Bitcoin miners have earned more than $71 billion in cumulative revenue. According to Blockchain.com, miners earned $42 million on December 22, compared to a peak of more than $100 million in April. Meanwhile, the current average difficulty of the Bitcoin network is 108.52 T, up from 72.01 T a year ago, and up 50.71% over the past 12 months. Mining expenses have also increased significantly due to increased operating costs. For example, BitFuFu reported that Bitcoin mining costs rose 168% to $51,887 per BTC, while mining capacity increased 62.5%. To strengthen their financial position, many listed mining companies turned to the capital markets. In the second quarter, nine of the 13 US-listed Bitcoin mining companies raised a total of approximately $1.25 billion through equity offerings. This trend continued in the third quarter, with another $530 million in funding, totaling more than $2.2 billion. (Cointelegraph)