Bitcoin ends the year with gains, but mining stocks are deeply in the red

Public mining companies have posted deep losses in 2024, based on data from Hashrate Index, tracking the biggest miners and data center operators. Despite the new all-time highs for Bitcoin (BTC), the shares of most mining entities are on track to end the year in the red. 

Not all publicly traded mining companies are sharing in the success of MicroStrategy, MARA Holdings, or Hut8. The stocks of most mining entities are on track to end the year in the red. 

The stock market performance of mining companies shows deep losses for the year to date, based on data collection by Hashrate Index. A total of 17 companies out of 25 publicly traded miners were in the red as of December 25, though some still have a chance to turn the trend by the end of the year. 

MicroStrategy (MSTR) remains the exception, starting the year at $68 and rallying to a peak of $473.83 in November. As of December 25, MSTR traded at $358.18, though its price performance depended on its ongoing buying of more BTC.

Mining companies try to diversify into new data-based tasks

Argo Blockchain Plc had the deepest losses, erasing 82.92% of its share price, down to $0.0615. The miner has not taken track of building up a Bitcoin (BTC) treasury and only has three coins in its reserves. Argo is a hosted mining company, a new model that relies on renting out electricity, rack, and cooling access, as well as delivering and installing ASIC on behalf of users. 

One of the biggest winners for 2024 is also a hosted mining company – Bitdeer Technologies Group. BTDR shares are up by 165.32%, trading at $23.56. BTDR holds 443 BTC, a small treasury from mining and not from acquisitions. 

As a contrast, Hut8 shares expanded by 92.7% in the year to date, trading at $24.28, slightly down from their peak of over $29. Hut8 also expanded its BTC acquisitions with debt financing. The other winner was Iris Energy Ltd, which shifted to investments in data centers. 

TeraWulf is another winner with 170.87% growth, based on its previous commitment to expand to AI data centers. WULF shares traded at $6.23, near their highest level for the past six months. WULF also got a boost from its attempt at carbon-neutral mining. 

For most miners, production prices vary and some are weighed down by costs. For others, the current BTC prices are favorable for realizing profits and financing future projects. Miners retain 1.9M BTC, down from over 2.02M in August 2024. Mining as a whole is not always a good proxy for the performance of BTC, and mining companies are facing different pressures. 

While individual shares were volatile, the overall HI Crypto Mining Stock Index retained relatively high levels in 2024. The index ended the year at 5,330.37 points, up from 4,234.18 points in January. 

The index includes chip producers and mining-related companies and has been rising for both 2023 and 2024, recovering after its 2021 and 2022 crashes. The index also includes the most prominent mining companies, though the selection may differ from the selection of Hashrate Index.

BTC mining activity remains at peak levels

BTC mining activity is showing no signs of slowing down or capitulation. Mining companies are using some of their proceeds to acquire new ASIC while retaining their previous contracts for energy access. 

The BTC hashrate is at over 770 EH/s, near all-time highs. Miners also produce blocks at the absolute highest difficulty, with constant growth over the past year. 

Individual miners, farms, companies, and even governments are also trying to mine with the most competitive pools. At the end of 2024, Foundry USA is the biggest pool, controlling over 31% of the total hashrate. Foundry is the choice for most mining companies that produce coins for their own reserves. 

The closest competitors Antpool and ViaBTC make up another 30% of mining. Binance Pool remains competitive but shuts down capacity during unfavorable conditions. 

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