Business
Bitcoin Mining Stocks Surge to Record Highs
Bitcoin mining stocks experience an unprecedented surge to reach new all-time highs, reflecting the growing interest and investment in the cryptocurrency mining sector.
Bitcoin (BTC) mining stocks have experienced a significant surge in the first half of this month, achieving record highs according to a recent report by JPMorgan. The report indicates that both pure-play and high-performance computing (HPC) miners have seen notable gains.
U.S.-listed miners now command a record 26.6% share of the global hashrate, showing a remarkable increase of 2.4% since the end of June, and a substantial 5.6% rise since the bitcoin halving event. Hashrate, which signifies the total computational power utilized for mining and processing transactions on a proof-of-work blockchain, serves as a measure of industry competition and mining difficulty.
The collective market cap of the 14 bitcoin miners listed in the U.S. tracked by the bank has surged by 29% since June’s end and currently trades at a level that is 2.6 times their proportional share of the four-year block reward, marking the highest level on record.
This trend implies that the market is increasingly recognizing the potential for artificial intelligence and HPC applications to provide alternative and more profitable use cases for bitcoin mining facilities, as outlined in the report.
The network hashrate has seen a 1% increase since June but remains approximately 60 exahashes per second (EH/s) below its pre-halving levels, as highlighted by the bank.
In June, U.S.-listed miners collectively added a total of 17 EH/s of capacity, reaching an all-time high level, with significant contributions from companies like Riot Platforms (RIOT), Bitfarms (BIT), and CleanSpark (CLSK).
Notably, during this period, all miners, with the exception of Stronghold Digital (SDIG) which experienced an 8% decline, outperformed bitcoin. Cipher Mining (CIFR) led the pack with a 44% gain.
A recent report from broker Bernstein also echoes positive sentiments regarding the AI/HPC potential in the mining sector. Deals such as Core Scientific’s 12-year agreement with CoreWeave and Coatue Management’s $150 million investment in HUT 8 (HUT) have emerged as significant catalysts for the industry.