Bitcoin Public Miners Surge as AI Spending Boom Fuels Market Rally (December 2024)
- Why Are Bitcoin Mining Stocks Soaring?
- Top Performers: Who’s Leading the Charge?
- AI and HPC: The New Cash Cows
- What’s Next for Bitcoin Miners?
- FAQs
Public bitcoin mining companies are riding high on the wave of AI-driven investments, with all top 10 firms posting significant gains last week. Bitcoin’s price surge past $90,000 has further boosted their market capitalization, now totaling $69.1 billion. Key players like IREN, Cipher Mining, and Applied Digital are leveraging AI partnerships and high-performance computing (HPC) to drive growth. This article dives into the details of their performance, strategic moves, and what’s next for the sector.
Why Are Bitcoin Mining Stocks Soaring?
Last week, Bitcoin mining stocks defied market expectations, with all top 10 publicly traded miners closing in the green. Bitcoin’s price rally—jumping 7.3% to $90,800—played a key role, but the real catalyst was the sector’s pivot toward AI and high-performance computing (HPC). As Greg Beard, former CEO of Stronghold Digital Mining, put it: "The AI arms race is dominated by the world’s biggest, most well-capitalized companies, and they’re fighting like their lives depend on it."
Top Performers: Who’s Leading the Charge?
The total market cap of public bitcoin miners hit $69.1 billion, up 5.04% in 24 hours. Here’s a breakdown of the standout performers:
- CleanSpark (CLSK) & Bitfarms (BITF): Both surged over 12% in a single day.
- Canaan (CAN) & Soluna Holdings (SLNH): Gained nearly 10% daily.
- IREN Limited (IREN): Topped the list with a $13 billion market cap despite a 1.32% dip. Its $9.7 billion deal with Microsoft for GPU-powered AI cloud services is a game-changer.
- Cipher Mining (CIFR): Rose 6.26% daily (43.81% weekly) after securing a 39 MW HPC deal with Fluidstack.
- Applied Digital (APLD): Jumped 28.49% weekly after launching its 100 MW AI data center in North Dakota.
AI and HPC: The New Cash Cows
Mining firms are no longer just about hashrate—energy utilization is the new battleground. TeraWulf (WULF), for instance, reported an 87% YoY profit increase to $50.6 million, with $7.2 million from HPC leases. Similarly, Riot Platforms (RIOT) mined 437 BTC in October while sitting on 19,324 BTC ($5.9 billion market cap). Core Scientific (CORZ) and Hut 8 (HUT) also gained, though CORZ rejected CoreWeave’s merger bid.
What’s Next for Bitcoin Miners?
The sector’s expansion hinges on AI and HPC partnerships. Hut 8’s four new U.S. projects (1,530 MW total) exemplify this shift. As the BTCC team notes, "Investors now value miners for their dual revenue streams—crypto and compute." But with great power comes great volatility; always DYOR.
FAQs
Why did bitcoin mining stocks rise last week?
Bitcoin’s price surge and AI/HPC partnerships drove gains, with the sector’s market cap hitting $69.1 billion.
Which mining company has the largest market cap?
IREN Limited leads with $13 billion, fueled by its $9.7 billion Microsoft AI deal.
How much did TeraWulf’s stock gain weekly?
WULF ROSE 37.37% after reporting an 87% profit increase and $712.8 million in cash reserves.
