Marathon Digital hints at AI pivot following Bitcoin production slowdown in August

Marathon Digital is showing interest in artificial intelligence (AI) as its Bitcoin production slowed in August.

On Sept. 5, the BTC miner announced the appointment of AI experts Janet George and Barbara Humpton to its board, replacing Kevin DeNuccio and Said Ouissal, who resigned on Sept. 1 as part of a planned transition.

AI experts

Marathon emphasized that its new appointment had strong backgrounds in AI, data centers, and energy. Their leadership and success in driving innovation in complex industries were also critical factors in their selection.

According to the press statement, Humpton is the current President and CEO of Siemens USA, where she has led the integration of AI and industrial data to enhance the company’s operations.

On the other hand, George previously worked as Corporate Vice President and General Manager of Data Center & Artificial Intelligence at Intel Corporation. She has also worked with major companies like Oracle, Western Digital, Accenture, Yahoo, eBay, and Apple.

Marathon’s chairman and CEO, Fred Thiel, noted the appointments reflect the growing importance of AI data center strategies. He emphasized the need for AI expertise on the board to support the company’s AI-focused infrastructure expansion.

These appointments come as market observers have highlighted the vast revenue potential an AI pivot could present to Bitcoin miners. Notably, VanEck projected that Bitcoin miners could earn an average yearly profit of around $14 billion if they dedicate 20% of their energy capacity to AI computation by 2027.

Bitcoin production

Marathon’s Bitcoin production dropped 3% to 673 BTC in August on a monthly basis, while block wins fell by 2% compared to July. However, the company mined its 4,000th block during the month and increased its hash rate by 11% to 35.2 EH/s.

Thiel stated that the firm improved the operation of its sites and remains on track to reach its target of 50 EH/s by the end of 2024. He added:

“During the month, we energized almost 18 immersion containers in Granbury, Texas. We are converting a large portion of our Granbury data center from air cooled to MARA’s immersion containers, with plans to transition at least another 30 in September.”

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