In a recent operational update, both Riot Platforms and CleanSpark reported an increase in their Bitcoin production for August.
Riot Platforms mined 477 BTC, up from 322 BTC a year earlier, marking a 48% increase compared to August 2024. The company sold 450 BTC in the same month, generating net revenue of $51.8 million and currently holds 19,309 BTC—an impressive 92.7% rise over the past year.
On the other hand, CleanSpark achieved a production of 657 BTC in August, which is a rise from 478 BTC in the same month last year, translating to a 37.5% annual increase. They sold 533.5 BTC last month for $60.7 million.
Back in April, CleanSpark also mentioned their plans to start selling BTC to become financially self-sufficient. They currently hold 12,827 BTC, showing a 69.7% growth in that timeframe.
This positive trend in output occurred despite a notable surge in the difficulty of Bitcoin mining.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3tufkva88s
BTC Mining Difficulty Increases in 2025
Over the past year, Bitcoin mining difficulties have risen by 44.9%, climbing from 89.5 trillion in August 2024 to 129.7 trillion now. This difficulty reflects the challenges miners face in verifying transactions and adding blocks to the Bitcoin blockchain. Changes in hashrate and miner activities often necessitate upgrades to mining rigs and strategies.
Despite these heightened difficulties, both Riot and CleanSpark reported impressive increases in their average operational hashrates year-over-year.
In August 2025, Riot’s average operational hashrate reached 31.4 EH/s, a dramatic increase from 14.5 EH/s in August 2024 — a jump of 116.6%. CleanSpark’s hashrate also rose significantly, from 21.3 EH/s to 43.3 EH/s, reflecting a 103.3% increase over the same period.
Some miners are looking beyond Bitcoin, exploring additional revenue streams. For example, HUT 8 is investing in four new data centers in the U.S. focused on high-performance computing, including artificial intelligence tasks. Meanwhile, Hive Digital Technologies and the Australian miner Aylen are also diversifying their operations. Earlier this year, Riot appointed an advisor known for successfully transitioning Bitcoin mining assets into the AI sector.
The energy demands of AI might already rival those of Bitcoin, posing a potential challenge to Bitcoin mining in the future.
