Publicly traded Bitcoin mining companies in the US have hit a milestone, reaching a record market cap of $22.8 billion. This achievement was fueled by a surge in stock prices during June, as reported by JP Morgan. The growth in market cap can be attributed to an increase in network hashrate share and a move towards diversification into artificial intelligence (AI) data center ventures.
As of June 15, Marathon Digital emerged as the largest US-listed Bitcoin miner with a market cap of $5.3 billion. Following closely behind were CleanSpark at $4 billion and Riot Platforms at $3 billion. The first half of June witnessed a significant uptick in the stock prices of 14 US-listed mining companies, with Core Scientific, TeraWulf, and Iris Energy leading the way with share price increases of 117%, 80%, and 70% respectively since the beginning of the month.
Interestingly, Argo Blockchain was the only company that experienced a decline in its share price, dropping by 7% over the same period. A proposed acquisition and strategic partnership between Core Scientific and AI cloud provider CoreWeave played a pivotal role in driving the collective market cap of miners upwards. Although CoreWeave’s offer of $1.6 billion to acquire Core Scientific was declined, the partnership between the two companies is expected to boost AI services utilizing data centers.
Furthermore, other Bitcoin mining companies are also exploring diversification strategies to contribute compute power for AI networks and development. JP Morgan analysts highlighted that the rising share of network hashrate among US Bitcoin miners has been a key factor in driving the market cap increase. Despite an overall 5% decline in network hashrate since the halving, US-listed miners have seen their market share rise to 23.8%, up from 22.9% in May and 21% in April.
The report projected that US miners are expected to produce approximately 650,000 Bitcoin over the current four-year halving cycle. Additionally, analysts observed that Bitcoin’s hash price remains relatively low, standing 15% below the bear market lows of December 2022 and 45% below pre-halving levels. They anticipate an increase in hash price in the coming weeks as network hashrate declines.
This significant growth in market cap and the shift towards AI data center ventures signify a new chapter for US-listed Bitcoin miners as they continue to expand their operations and explore innovative opportunities in the cryptocurrency space.