Bitcoin News Today: IREN Outproduces MARA in July Mining Despite Smaller Hashrate

IREN Limited has surpassed MARA Holdings in Bitcoin mining output for July, despite utilizing a smaller deployed hashrate, marking a significant operational shift in the competitive Bitcoin mining space. IREN mined 728 BTC during the month, outpacing MARA’s 703 BTC. This achievement was made with a deployed hashrate of 50 exahashes per second (EH/s), which is less than MARA’s 58.9 EH/s. IREN’s average realized hashrate for July was 45.4 EH/s, while MARA’s was 43.94 EH/s [1].

The performance highlights IREN’s superior fleet utilization, with more than 90% of its mining assets active, compared to less than 75% for MARA [1]. This operational efficiency was reflected in IREN’s stock price, which surged over 11% intraday, closing at $18.32. The company’s market capitalization reached $4.11 billion, positioning it as the second-largest publicly traded Bitcoin miner, behind only MARA [1].

In addition to Bitcoin mining, IREN’s July revenue of $86 million was bolstered by $2.3 million from its computing operations. The firm has been expanding its artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, recently purchasing 2,400 Nvidia Blackwell GPUs to scale its AI Cloud Services. The company’s CEO, Daniel Roberts, emphasized that IREN is leveraging its infrastructure to run both Bitcoin mining and AI operations in parallel, enhancing its adaptability to evolving market demands [1].

IREN’s recent performance represents a sharp reversal from earlier skepticism. In 2024, short-seller Culper Research criticized the company for being “wildly overvalued,” questioning the feasibility of its AI ambitions given its limited resources [1]. Following that report, IREN’s stock price fell sharply but has since surged more than 227% from its April low of $5.59 [1].

MARA, meanwhile, saw a decline in July performance compared to June, when it mined 950 BTC—its highest output since the 2024 Bitcoin halving. The company holds 50,639 BTC, the second-largest corporate Bitcoin reserve after MicroStrategy, and its stock rose 2%, trading at $15.91 [1].

The broader industry has seen continued growth in corporate Bitcoin holdings. CleanSpark, for example, now holds over 12,700 self-mined BTC and has maintained a strategy of self-funding through Bitcoin sales without shareholder dilution. Cipher Mining also reported 214 BTC mined in July and now holds a total of 1,219 BTC [1].

IREN’s ability to outperform a larger competitor underscores the importance of asset efficiency and cost control in the Bitcoin mining sector. As the industry continues to evolve, firms that demonstrate agility in adapting to market changes and diversifying into complementary technologies such as AI are likely to capture investor attention [1].

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[1] Bitcoin News Today: IREN Shares Jump 11.4% After Surpassing MARA in July Mining Output (https://www.ainvest.com/news/bitcoin-news-today-iren-shares-jump-11-4-outproducing-mara-july-bitcoin-mining-2508/)