Mining Stocks Are Beating Bitcoin in a Bullish Cryptocurrency Market

Riot and Marathon have rallied 97% and 128% over the past year while bitcoin has gained 3 percent.

AccessTimeIconAug 10, 2020 at 8:05 p.m. UTC
Updated Mar 2, 2023 at 8:24 p.m. UTC

Presented By Icon

Election 2024 coverage presented by

Stand with crypto

Betting against bitcoin has been a losing battle for months with the crypto up more than 200% since its March lows. Benefiting from this rally, moreover, cryptocurrency mining stocks trading on U.S. markets are significantly outperforming the benchmark cryptocurrency.

  • Over the past year, two cryptocurrency mining companies – Riot Blockchain and Marathon Patent Group – have gained 97% and over 128 percent, respectively. Bitcoin is up 3% in the same period.
  • The companies moderately underperformed bitcoin during the Q1 2020, but since mid-April, both took off.
  • The size of both companies mirror the relatively still small size of the crypto space, with neither company reporting a market capitalization above $150 million.
  • “Spillover from resurging interest in cryptocurrencies” is one reason for recent gains in mining stocks, according to Ryan Watkins, bitcoin analyst at Messari. “It’s natural for mining stocks to rise with cryptocurrencies,” he said.
  • Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
    13:18
    Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
  • Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
    05:10
    Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
  • The first video of the year 2024
    04:07
    The first video of the year 2024
  • The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
    40:07
    The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
    • Riot and Marathon currently have mining capacities of 357 petahash and 19 petahash per second.
    • The companies' strong performance comes on the back of record trading volume.
    • Marathon daily volume soared to an all-time high of over $225 million on Aug. 3, up from $1.6 million a month earlier. Three days later, the company reached a two-year high of $5.25 per share.
    • After reporting less than $5 million for most of July, Riot daily volume also skyrocketed to a record-setting $58 million on Aug. 3 shortly before setting a new yearly high of $4.58.
    • “It’s also natural for mining stocks to rise faster than bitcoin because investors are pricing in a bull market, which could cause revenue to balloon,” Watkins added.

    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information have been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish group equity-based compensation. Bullish was incubated by technology investor Block.one.


    Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.