Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA), a global firm leveraging digital asset compute to support the energy transformation, announced that the company is mining Kaspa (KAS), a proof-of-work (PoW) digital asset, “to further diversify its portfolio of digital asset compute.”
Kaspa is currently the fifth largest proof-of-work digital asset by market cap.
It boasts a market cap of $3.9 billion “with approximately $64.8 million in daily trading volume as of June 25, 2024.”
The circulating supply is approximately 24 billion KAS with “a current block reward of 103.83 KAS, and the terminal supply is capped at 28.7 billion KAS.”
Similar to Bitcoin, Kaspa is described as being an “open-source, decentralized, and fully scalable Layer-1 protocol that uses proof-of-work as its consensus mechanism.”
However, unlike Bitcoin’s blockchain, “which is linear and processes one block every ten minutes, Kaspa utilizes a BlockDAG (Directed Acyclic Graph) that enables multiple blocks to be produced simultaneously.”
The Kaspa network currently processes “one block every second, allowing for faster transactions and providing Kaspa miners with the opportunity to potentially earn more block rewards in a given time frame.”
In May 2023, Marathon began evaluating Kaspa “as a potential way to diversify its revenue while continuing to utilize its current infrastructure and expertise in digital asset compute.”
After successfully deploying its first Kaspa ASICs “in September 2023, the company began scaling its operations.”
Marathon has purchased approximately 60 petahash “of KS3, KS5, and KS5 Pro ASICs, each of which is estimated by ASIC Miner Value to generate profit in certain cases up to 95% margins given the current network difficulty rate and price of KAS. 30 petahash of Marathon’s Kaspa ASICs are currently operational in the Company’s self-owned and operated facilities in Texas, and the remainder are currently expected to be fully energized in Q3 2024.”
As of June 25, 2024, Marathon has “mined 93 million KAS, which are currently valued at approximately $15 million.”
Adam Swick, Marathon’s chief growth officer said:
“By mining Kaspa, we are able to create a stream of revenue that is diversified from Bitcoin, and that is directly tied to our core competencies in digital asset compute. “Because of our existing infrastructure, our unique relationships with hardware manufacturers, our strong balance sheet, and the expertise of our team, Marathon was uniquely positioned to mine Kaspa and to capitalize on the higher margins that exist for those who can deploy Kaspa ASICs today. We look forward to continuing to support innovation in proof-of-work ecosystems, as we expand our position as a leader in digital asset compute.”
As covered, Marathon Digital Holdings is a global firm focused on digital asset compute that develops and “deploys innovative technologies to build a more sustainable and inclusive future.”
