Sydney-based crypto miner Iren Limited (IREN) outpaced its rival Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) in both Bitcoin production and operational efficiency for July, according to a company update released Wednesday. The firm mined 728 BTC, edging past MARA’s 703 BTC, and operated with over 90% fleet utilization, establishing itself as the top miner by hashrate for the month.
Iren’s average hashrate hit 45.4 exahashes per second (EH/s) in July, slightly ahead of MARA’s 43.94 EH/s, while realizing $114,891 in revenue per Bitcoin mined. The broader Bitcoin network also made headlines, crossing the 900 EH/s mark for the first time—a reflection of the increasing global competition in mining.
“We delivered another month of record revenue—$86 million—and record hardware profits of $66 million in July, supported by strong Bitcoin mining economics and continued demand for our AI Cloud services,” said Daniel Roberts, Iren’s co-founder and co-CEO.
The company also brought in $2.3 million in revenue from its growing compute division, signaling a diversified business model.
Diverging Strategies: Diversification vs. Focus
Unlike Iren and other miners expanding into cloud computing and AI infrastructure, MARA continues to position itself as a pure-play Bitcoin miner. In June, MARA produced 950 BTC, its highest post-halving monthly output. Despite falling behind Iren in July, MARA remains the second-largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, with 50,639 BTC—worth over $5.8 billion.
Elsewhere in the industry, CleanSpark (CLSK) reported growing its treasury to over 12,700 self-mined Bitcoin. CEO Zach Bradford emphasized the firm’s strategy of funding operations through Bitcoin sales, avoiding shareholder dilution via equity raises—a common practice among crypto firms.
Cipher Mining (CIFR) also shared its July results: 214 BTC mined, 52 BTC sold, and total holdings increased to 1,219 BTC.
