TeraWulf Q1 loss widens amid rising costs, falling revenue

Mining firm TeraWulf reported a net loss of approximately $61.4 million in its earnings for the first quarter of 2025, further deteriorating from the same period last year.

Revenue fell to $34.4 million from $42.4 million in the same period of 2024, according to the company's earnings report, published May 9. Cost of revenue rose sharply to $24.5 million, up from $14.4 million a year earlier.

As a result, TeraWulf's cost of revenue accounted for 71.4% of total income from operations in Q1 2025, more than double the 34% recorded in the prior-year quarter. In Q1 2024, the company posted a net loss of $9.6 million.

TeraWulf attributed the decreased revenue to Bitcoin's (BTC) post-halving economics that reduced the block subsidy from 6.25 BTC per block mined to 3.125 BTC per block mined, rising network difficulty, and severe weather in the upstate New York area that is home to a TeraWulf mining facility.

The company is not alone in posting losses for the quarter, as the already competitive mining industry faces reduced block rewards and the macroeconomic uncertainty of geopolitical trade tensions that have created turmoil for financial markets and businesses alike.

Related: Riot Platforms posts Q1 loss, beats revenue estimates

Miners hit by trade tariffs, high uncertainty

The trade tariffs introduced by US President Donald Trump have raised concern among mining companies and analysts that the import duties will drive up the costs of hardware and other physical infrastructure necessary to run crypto nodes.

Imposing tariffs on mining hardware like application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) will also give miners outside the United States a price advantage over US-based competitors in obtaining the critical equipment needed.

As a result of the ongoing tariff negotiations, miners sold 40% of their mined BTC in March 2025, reversing the post-halving trend of miners accumulating BTC for corporate treasuries or reserves.

March's sell-off was the highest month for miner BTC liquidations since October 2024 — the month ahead of the 2024 US presidential election, which was pivotal for the crypto industry and represented high uncertainty for businesses and investors.

Related: Illegal arcade disguised as … a fake Bitcoin mine? Soldier scams in China: Asia Express