3 Bitcoin Mining Stocks to Hold as BTC Becomes More Mainstream
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3 Bitcoin Mining Stocks to Hold as BTC Becomes More Mainstream

A look at three stocks from a new industry that's gaining mainstream adoption.
Neither the author, Tim Fries, nor this website, The Tokenist, provide financial advice. Please consult our website policy prior to making financial decisions.

Strongly correlated to Bitcoin (BTC) but more volatile than BTC itself, bitcoin mining stocks have been significantly up over the last three months. While Bitcoin flatlined at negative 1% for a 3-month performance, the Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (NASDAQ: WGMI) is up nearly 28% in the same period.

This is to be expected, given the operational expectations of various companies. In turn, these drive investors’ perceptions of the promise of improved mining tech and infrastructure. Additionally, some companies branch out into cloud hosting ventures to diversify their revenue streams.

Given Bitcoin’s drop from the monthly high of $71.6k into the $64k range, this further sparked investor speculation as none of Bitcoin’s fundamentals changed. Quite the opposite, with the federal budget deficit breaking $1.2 trillion for the first eight months of FY2024, the necessity for decentralized sound money seems more urgent than ever.

In a timely combo, former President Trump boosted the Bitcoin mining industry by saying that the remaining Bitcoin mining should stay in the United States. Here are the three Bitcoin mining stocks that are securing that potential.

Core Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ: CORZ)

Previously attached to bankruptcy at the end of 2022, Core Scientific is now attached to rapid growth. Year-to-date, CORZ stock is up 162%, triple the performance of Bitcoin. After the approved Chapter 11 restructuring plan, the mining company regained a Nasdaq listing this January.

“When bitcoin prices declined and power prices increased, obviously that hurt our levered free cash flow position, as well as hurt our balance sheet, since we were carrying bitcoin on balance sheet,”

Adam Sullivan, Core Scientific CEO to CNBC

Since then, CORZ stock has been greatly boosted by the proposed all-cash deal worth $1.02 billion with cloud provider CoreWeave, which Core rejected because it “significantly undervalues the company.”

However, the miner extended its 12-year AI contract by providing CoreWeave with 200MW worth of computing power for its high-performance compute (HPC) operations. For this purpose, CoreWeave is utilizing Nvidia GPUs while also paying for Core Scientific’s conversion of mining infrastructure into application-specific data centers.

This new inflow’s estimated average annual revenue is around $290 million. In Q1 earnings, Core Scientific reported a net income of $210.7 million vs a net loss of $0.4 million in the year-ago quarter, having earned 2,825 BTC. 

This was purportedly more than from any other publicly listed miner in North America. With 745 MW of power available, Core Scientific has a capacity of 25.5 EH/s, of which 6.2 EH/s is allocated to cloud hosting services. 

CORZ’s all-time high price was $10.33 on June 14th, now at $9.69 per share. 

Iris Energy (NASDAQ: IREN)

This bitcoin mining company focuses on sustainable scalability, meaning 100% of power comes from renewable sources. As of June reporting, the company mined 230 BTC in May on a 10 EH/s capacity, targeted for expansion to 30 EH/s in Q4.

Like Core Scientific, Iris Energy diversified into AI cloud services, offering 816 Nvidia H100 GPUs. Overall, the company plans to expand to 510 MW of renewable power by the end of 2024, up from the present 260 MW.

Iris Energy reported zero debt while having $322 in cash reserves. The Q1 quarter ended with a net profit of $8.6 million vs a net loss of $5.2 million in the year-ago quarter. Currently priced at $14.45, IREN stock is far above its 52-week low of $2.79, having left the penny stock territory.

Year-to-date, IREN stock is up 107%, also outperforming Bitcoin.

TeraWulf (NASDAQ: WULF)

TeraWulf attracted investors’ attention as one of the first Bitcoin mining companies to tap into nuclear power. Specifically, its “Nautilus” site adjacent to Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna nuclear power plant.

This means TeraWulf has a near-zero carbon footprint and utilizes 95% zero-carbon energy. As of March, the company operates at 100 MW capacity, owing to the Pennsylvania site. In May’s Q1 earnings report, TeraWulf nearly doubled revenue to $42.4 million vs. $23.3 million in the year-ago quarter.

Having mined 1,057 BTC, it represents an 8.9% year-over-year uptick. Finishing the quarter with a $28 million gross profit, up from $14.4 million the year prior, TeraWulf’s BTC stash was valued at $56.8 million.  

Year-to-date, WULF stock is up 85%. From the 52-week average price of $2.01, WULF shares are now worth $4.39 per share. 

Do you prefer assets with earnings or just focus on Bitcoin and other prominent altcoins? Let us know in the comments below.

Disclaimer: The author does not hold or have a position in any securities discussed in the article.

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