Argo increases Bitcoin production despite BTC difficulty growth
Publicly-listed Bitcoin (BTC) mining firm Argo Blockchain has increased its daily BTC production despite a significant spike in network difficulty.
During the month of February, Argo mined a total of 162 of Bitcoin or BTC equivalents, translating to 5.7 BTC per day, the firm announced in an operational update on March 7.
Argo’s daily Bitcoin production rate in February surged 7% from 5.4 BTC per day produced in January, despite a 10% month-over-month increase in average network difficulty.
Bitcoin mining difficulty is a measure defining how hard it is to mine a BTC block, with a higher difficulty requiring more hash rate, or additional computing power to verify transactions and mine new coins.
According to data from Blockchain.com, BTC network difficulty has been surging to new all-time highs in February, hitting a difficulty rate of 43 trillion on Feb. 25.
Bitcoin difficulty historical chart. Source: Blockchain.comThe news comes amid the industry anticipating the next Bitcoin difficulty adjustment that is expected to occur on March 10. According to data from BTC.com, the next difficulty is estimated to reach 43.4 trillion.
Related: Argo Blockchain accused of misleading investors in class-action lawsuit
As previously reported, Argo Blockchain sold its flagship mining facility Helios to Mike Novogratz’s crypto investment firm Galaxy Digital amid the tough crypto market of 2022. Despite continuing to mine using Galaxy’s facility, Argo apparently saw its BTC production slightly dropping in the aftermath of the sale. Months before the transaction, Argo’s monthly BTC mining generated more than 200 BTC.
Argo is not the only mining firm that seems to be unaffected by the BTC difficulty spike in February, with other miners like Cipher Mining producing 16% more Bitcoin in February over January. Marathon Digital also increased their average Bitcoin produced per day by 10% compared to January.