Q1 2025 Data Reveal Sky-High Costs and a New Pecking Order in Bitcoin Mining

In Q1 2025, the Bitcoin mining industry faced numerous challenges due to the halving event and the increased network difficulty.

This analysis will use data from publicly listed Bitcoin mining companies such as Cipher Mining, Riot Platforms, Core Scientific, Hut 8 Corp, TeraWulf, Bitfarms, and Cango to summarize, compare, and evaluate their financial performance, mining output, and development strategies.

Financial Performance

Bitcoin mining companies in Q1 2025 exhibited significant disparities in financial performance.

Riot Platforms recorded the highest revenue at $161.4 million, primarily from Bitcoin mining ($142.9 million), with an output of 1,530 BTC. However, per-unit mining costs surged to $43,808/BTC from $23,034/BTC year-over-year, reflecting the impact of the halving and increased network difficulty.

Core Scientific reported an impressive net profit of $581 million, largely driven by non-cash valuation adjustments ($622 million). Revenue dropped 55.7% to $79.525 million, and adjusted EBITDA was negative at $6.107 million.

Bitfarms saw a 33% revenue increase to $67 million, but its gross profit margin fell from 63% to 43%, with a net loss of $36 million. Cango achieved revenue of $145.2 million, with $144.2 million from Bitcoin mining, producing 1,541 BTC at a high average cost of $70,602/BTC.

Meanwhile, Hut 8 Corp and TeraWulf faced significant challenges, with revenues declining by 58% ($21.8 million) and $34.4 million, respectively, alongside substantial net losses ($134.3 million and $61.4 million).

Revenue of mining companies

Mining Output and Bitcoin Holdings

Regarding mining output, Cango led with 1,541 BTC, followed by Riot Platforms (1,530 BTC) and Bitfarms (1,166 BTC). Cipher Mining mined 174 BTC in April but sold 350 BTC, reducing its holdings to 855 BTC, of which 379 BTC were collateralized.

Production of mining companies

Riot Platforms held the largest Bitcoin reserve with 19,223 unrestricted BTC, Bitfarms held 1,166 BTC, and Cango maintained significant cash and short-term investments ($347.4 million).

Core Scientific did not disclose specific Bitcoin holdings but focused on expanding managed services with a 250MW contract for CoreWeave, expected to generate $360 million in revenue by 2026.

Q1 2025 was challenging for Bitcoin mining companies due to the Bitcoin halving and increased network difficulty. Riot Platforms and Cango led in output and revenue, but high mining costs posed challenges. Core Scientific and Hut 8 are pivoting toward sectors like AI to reduce reliance on mining.