Marathon Digital vs Riot Platforms: debunking Bitcoin mining energy

Electricity load and the grid

The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance report from April 2025 shows that 52.4% of Bitcoin mining electricity comes from zero-emission sources. This figure includes 42.6% from renewables like hydropower, wind, and solar. Miners act as a flexible load. They curtail power within seconds to stabilize the grid. Riot Platforms earned $31.7 million in energy credits from ERCOT in August 2023. This payment came from reducing consumption during a heatwave. The industry uses electricity at a rate less than 0.5% of the world total. I reject the energy FUD. In January 2026, the network hashrate briefly surpassed 1 zettahash per second. Shortly after, US winter storms caused a 12% drop in hashrate. The US accounts for 37.5% of the global hashrate. Most miners use excess energy from wind or solar. Bitcoin mining consumes about 2.3% of US electricity.

Scaling digital infrastructure

Riot Platforms holds a 20-year lease with a frontier AI lab for 191 MW of capacity at the Rockdale campus. This deal generates $9.1 billion in total contract revenue. The company already delivered 25 MW to AMD on time and on budget. Riot also contracted 241 MW of capacity with two major AI companies. In the second quarter of 2026, Riot generated $23.2 million in data center revenue. This includes $4.9 million in operating lease revenue and $18.3 million in tenant fit-out services. The company produced 1,587 bitcoins this quarter. Bitcoin mining revenue reached $113.7 million. Riot keeps $1.2 billion in liquid assets. This includes 11,380 bitcoins worth $666 million at the June 30, 2026 price of $58,527 per coin. Riot holds $548.9 million in cash. Morgan Stanley provided a $573 million interim financing facility to fund development costs. The engineering segment brought in $37.3 million. Mining costs per coin reached $49,912. The current Bitcoin block reward stands at 3.125 BTC.

I choose Riot.

Comparing the miners

Marathon Digital Holdings reports a trailing twelve-month net income of $927 million. This dwarfs Riot Platforms’ $164 million net income. However, Marathon carries a 70% debt-to-equity ratio. Riot maintains a much lower 25% ratio. Marathon’s market cap sits at $3.53 billion. Riot’s market cap reaches $4.72 billion. Riot’s momentum score reaches 75, while Marathon’s score drops to 28. Marathon’s trailing twelve-month revenue totals $919 million. Riot’s trailing twelve-month revenue equals $674.5 million. Marathon’s price-earnings ratio sits at 3.63. Riot’s price-earnings ratio reaches 24.42. Marathon’s revenue growth reached 90% year over year. Riot’s revenue growth for the quarter reached 13.9%.

Does the market favor Marathon’s higher profit?