Cipher Digital sold 1,619 Bitcoin for $123.4 million during the second quarter, booking $47.7 million in realized losses. The sales came as the company's mining revenue fell to $24.8 million — down from $43.6 million a year earlier — while interest expense climbed to $66.7 million. The numbers underscore the strain on miners as Bitcoin prices stay volatile and operating costs eat into margins.
The $47.7 million loss
Of the total realized loss, $23.5 million landed in the second quarter. A separate $150.5 million noncash warrant charge — tied to the Google lease for Cipher's Barber Lake site — swelled the company's net loss to $267.5 million. Cipher ended June with 646 Bitcoin on hand, worth $37.8 million at quarter-end prices.
Mining revenue and cash burn
Quarterly mining revenue came entirely from the Odessa facility. The 2.7-to-1 ratio of interest expense to mining revenue is the starkest sign of pressure. First half operations burned $152 million in cash, and Cipher spent $964.3 million on property and equipment. Bitcoin sales brought in $123.4 million; financing activities supplied net $2.84 billion, including $129.2 million from at-the-market stock sales. As of June 30, Cipher held $831.8 million in cash and equivalents, plus $3.73 billion in restricted cash.
Black Pearl and the AI pivot
The Black Pearl project — a $2 billion AI data center financed through secured notes — started its rent clock after June 30. Cipher began delivering initial capacity in early August, two months ahead of schedule, and rent had commenced by its Aug. 4 business update. The company disclosed no amount collected and no quarter-by-quarter ramp. The parent company has limited construction-completion exposure on the notes. A recent CoinShares report noted that stressed miners are selling coins while stronger operators pivot to AI, making listed mining stocks less pure Bitcoin proxies. Cipher's warrant charge with Google for Barber Lake fits that pattern.
The third quarter will be the first to include the Black Pearl rent period. Investors are waiting for concrete revenue figures from that project — and for signs that the cash burn is slowing. Cipher's balance sheet looks thick, but the mining revenue decline and the size of the realized losses raise the question of how long the company can keep selling Bitcoin to cover costs.
