Bitfarms expands Bitcoin mining hashrate to 7 EH/s with Quebec upgrades

Bitfarms announced on April 12 that it completed upgrades to its Bitcoin mining facilities in two locations, bringing its total hash rate to 7 EH/s.

The company installed and activated over 5,000 T21 miners at two facilities in Québec, Canada.

Bitfarms installed 3,168 T21s devices at its Garlock, Québec facility, plus 1,710 T21s and 100 M53S+ hydro miners at its Farnham, Québec site. The latest upgrades improve energy efficiency by about 51%.

Geoff Morphy, President and CEO of Bitfarms, emphasized the benefit of efficiency, asserting the “transformative nature of [the] upgrade plan.” He noted that greater efficiency prepares the company for Bitcoin’s upcoming halving event.

Bitfarms intends to deploy another 30,000 miners this quarter. The company will introduce these upgrades in existing locations, including its new Paso Pe, Paraguay facility. The 30,000 deployments will help the company approach its 2024 targets of 12 EH/s and 21 EH/s.

Halving is fast approaching

Bitfarms is just one of many companies expanding ahead of Bitcoin’s upcoming halving event, which is expected to occur on April 19.

CleanSpark announced on April 12 that it expanded its hash rate to 17 EH/s. CleanSpark CEO Zach Bradford said the company is “well-suited” for the halving, both because of its own efficiency and because competitors’ old, inefficient machines will leave the network.

Marathon said in a Bloomberg interview in March that it plans to expand in light of the halving. Hut 8 said in February that the halving would provide opportunities for future growth and announced plans to construct a new Texas facility. Cipher Mining and Stronghold Digital Mining also announced expansions in January.

The halving will reduce mining rewards per block. Not accounting for possible fluctuations in BTC prices, lower rewards will likely reduce profitability for some mining companies. However, lower profits can potentially be offset by more efficient operations.