Bitcoin Mining Profits Dropped Further in July

Bitcoin (BTC) mining was slightly less profitable in July than the previous month, investment bank Jefferies reported in a research report published today. The price of the world’s largest cryptocurrency fell by more than 6 percent, while the network hash rate remained stable.

The bank lowered its price target on Marathon Digital (MARA) to $17 from $22, while saying it likely maintains a hold strategy on the stock. The stock fell 0.7% to around $15 in premarket trading.

The report noted that U.S.-listed mining companies produced a larger share of bitcoin in July than in June, accounting for 21.1 percent of the total network compared to 20.7 percent in May. It also noted that August would be a more difficult month for miners as the network hash rate began to rise again while the bitcoin price fell by about 5 percent.

Marathon Digital became the company that produced the most bitcoin in July. Production increased by 17% compared to the previous month, reaching a total of 692 tokens. The miner’s hash rate remains the largest in the industry.

Wall Street giant JPMorgan (JPM) said in a report published last month that the share of US-listed miners in the global hash rate reached a record level in July.