BTC
According to Glassnode data, Marathon, Hut8, and Riot established the top three Bitcoin (BTC) mining pools, while Bit Digital recorded a 134% increase in reserves in nine months.
BTC miners in 2022
Heading into 2022, BTC miners gained resources through cheap debt in 2021. Most of them invested these resources in developing their ASICS, and until May, they have been increasing their BTC holdings.
Public mining company BTC Holdings
However, the bear market that began in May brought enormous pressure and led to a distribution among miners. The Russia-Ukraine war has increased energy costs, BTC prices have fallen, hash power has risen, and competition for block space has intensified.
Distribution became the main theme of BTC miners in the second half of 2022. However, the BTC trading volume on the exchange did not grow. Throughout the year, less than 60,000 BTC was sent to the exchange.
Year-end reserves
Marathon, Hut8, and Riot became the top three companies with the largest total BTC holdings at 12,232 BTC, 9,086 BTC, and 6,952 BTC, respectively.
Public BTC mining company - total reserves
Marathon holds 27.7% of the top nine mining companies combined, while Hut8 and Riot account for 20.4% and 17.5%, respectively.
Top 9 companies
Top 9 BTC mining companies. Marathon, Hut8, HIVE, Riot and Bit Digital increased their holdings at the end of the year.
The top 9 companies are in control
However, Bit Digital saw the most impressive growth in mining capacity throughout the year. Bit Digital began operations in April and mined 754 BTC in its first month. For the rest of the year, the company's reserves grew 134%, reaching 1,765 in December.
Marathon started the year with 8,595 BTC, up 42%, and 12,232 BTC in December. The 5,826 BTC Hut8 in January increased to 9,086 by December, an increase of nearly 56%. Finally, HIVE's January reserves stood at 2,043 BTC, up 14.9% for the year, reaching 2,348 BTC in December.
Bitfarms entered the year with 4,600 BTC and dropped to 405 BTC in December, down 91%. Similarly, Argo held 2,748 BTC in January, falling to 141 BTC in December, a decrease of 94.8%.
With CleanSpark's BTC reserves down 51%, from 471 in January to 228 in December, Core Scientific finally survived the winter. The company entered the year with 6,373 BTC and went bankrupt in December.
The first two weeks of 2023
2023 started with minimal selling pressure in the last three years. The graph below shows the flow of BTC from miners' wallets to exchanges.
BTC flows from miners to exchanges
According to the data, only 88 BTC have been sent to the exchange in the past two weeks.