Bitcoin Miner Strikes 63% Gains In A Week As Network Records Biggest Difficulty Drop In A Year

Bitcoin BTC/USD mining company Marathon Digital Holdings MARA has rallied 63% over five days.

What Happened: According to data from Benzinga Pro, MARA rallied from $8.26 on Monday to $13.49 on Thursday. The stock was trading 1.85% higher during the pre-market session on Friday. 

MARA is up 63% over a week and 99.85% over a month. The Bitcoin miner’s positive price action comes as smaller miners have begun selling their BTC holdings to sustain operations.

Data from BTC.com shows that the Bitcoin blockchain just recorded its single largest drop in mining difficulty in a year.

At a block height of 745920, mining difficult dropped 5.01% to 27.69 trillion — the largest drop since July 2021.

Why It Matters: Mining difficulty is indicative of how much hash power goes toward mining Bitcoin. When miners slow down operations, mining difficulty typically drops to ensure new Bitcoins are mined on schedule.

Earlier this month, JPMorgan Chase & Co. estimated that the cost of producing a single Bitcoin is down to $13,000 from a high of $24,000 in June.

With Bitcoin miners selling a collective 14,600 BTC in June, it is likely that those with the most efficient mining rigs and strong cash balances are the most likely to continue on with operations at scale.