Marathon Digital, a Bitcoin mining company, has seen its stock trading volume soar to over $105 million in the past 24 hours, surpassing the likes of Tesla, Apple, and Amazon. This surge comes just weeks before the anticipated approval of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) and is indicative of the growing interest in cryptocurrency-related stocks.
Another Bitcoin mining firm, Riot Platforms, also experienced a significant increase in trading volume, with transactions exceeding $40 million, making it the sixth most traded stock of the day. The rise in trading activity for public Bitcoin mining stocks is occurring during a period of expansion for mining companies, ahead of the approval of a Bitcoin ETF in January and the Bitcoin halving event expected in April.
On December 19, Marathon announced plans to acquire two mining centers for $179 million, adding 390 megawatts to its existing 584-megawatt production capacity. Two weeks prior, Riot Platforms invested $291 million in additional Bitcoin mining equipment, marking the largest hash rate increase in the company’s history.
Despite Bitcoin’s impressive 163% increase since the beginning of the year, shares of Bitcoin miners have outperformed the cryptocurrency itself. Marathon Digital’s shares have skyrocketed by 767%, while Riot Platforms’ shares have gained 452% in value, according to TradingView data.
Coinbase, the largest public cryptocurrency exchange, has also seen its value increase by more than 450% since the start of the year, gaining significant momentum despite the crypto sector still reeling from FTX’s bankruptcy and numerous other failures in 2022. Crypto-related stocks have started the year as a popular investment choice.
However, investors willing to take risks in the crypto sector have faced substantial losses this year, with over $6 billion in crypto-related short positions liquidated in the futures market so far.