Marathon Digital is poised to become the exclusive operator of two newly procured bitcoin mining locations, thereby concluding the oversight role of its rival Hut 8 at these centers. The properties, located in Kearney, Nebraska, and Granbury, Texas, have a total functional capacity of 390 megawatts. Up until now, Hut 8, through its managed services branches, had been responsible for all operational elements at the Kearney and Granbury locations, which included accounting, curtailment, and customer relations. However, according to Marathon CEO Fred Thiel, taking direct control of the sites will enable the company to fully reap the operational and financial advantages of having these assets. Marathon has set a new record for its monthly Bitcoin output, surpassing its rivals by a significant margin. Marathon intends to enhance its engagement in energy hedging and better manage its energy services by removing Hut 8 from its operations. The company also aims to deploy its unique technology more efficiently to boost its operational effectiveness, as mentioned in a press statement. The company’s representative did not offer any additional comments at the time. As part of ending their arrangement, Marathon is expected to pay Hut 8 a severance fee estimated at approximately $83 million, as reported by Hut 8 in a news release on Friday. Marathon, which boasts a hash rate capacity of 25.2 exahashes per second as of December, is orchestrating this strategic change. 31 — follows the announcement in December by the company of its plans to acquire these properties through a transaction valued at $179 million in cash. The transaction was finalized in January. Crypto miners are actively purchasing more machines in preparation for the upcoming halving event. Hut 8 has merged with US Bitcoin Corp. In November, the growth of the merged enterprise extended its presence, attaining an installed self-mining capability of 7.5 exahashes per second scattered across six locations.