Marathon Digital Hints at AI Turnaround After Bitcoin Production Slows in August
Marathon Digital is looking into artificial intelligence (AI) as Bitcoin production slows in August.
On September 5, the BTC miner announced that it had appointed AI experts Janet George and Barbara Humpton to its board of directors, replacing Kevin DeNuccio and Said Wisal, who resigned on September 1, as part of a planned transition.
AI expert
Marathon emphasized that the new appointee has a strong background in AI, data centers and energy. Leadership and success in driving innovation in complex industries were also important factors in the selection.
According to a press release, Humpton is currently president and CEO of Siemens USA, where he is leading the integration of AI and industrial data to improve the company’s operations.
Meanwhile, George previously served as Corporate Vice President and General Manager of Data Center and Artificial Intelligence at Intel Corporation. She has also worked with major companies such as Oracle, Western Digital, Accenture, Yahoo, eBay, and Apple.
Fred Thiel, Marathon’s chairman and CEO, said the appointment reflects the growing importance of the company’s AI data center strategy. He emphasized the need for AI expertise on the board to support the company’s expansion of its AI-centric infrastructure.
The appointment comes as market observers have highlighted the huge revenue potential that the AI pivot could provide for Bitcoin miners. In particular, VanEck predicted that Bitcoin miners could generate an average of $14 billion in annual revenue if they dedicated 20% of their energy capacity to AI calculations by 2027.
Bitcoin production
Marathon’s Bitcoin production fell 3% month-over-month in August to 673 BTC, while block wins were down 2% compared to July. However, the company mined its 4,000th block that month and increased its hash rate by 11% to 35.2 EH/s.
Thiel said the company has improved site operations and is on track to reach its goal of 50 EH/s by the end of 2024. He added:
“This month, we powered up nearly 18 immersion containers in Granbury, Texas. We are converting a significant portion of our Granbury data center from air-cooled to MARA immersion containers, with plans to convert at least 30 more in September.”
