Bitcoin mining stocks continued their rebound in September, surpassing Bitcoin despite ongoing pressure on industry economics and extended hardware payback periods.
According to The Miner Mag’s recent industry update, the shares of Cipher Mining (CIFR), Terawulf (WULF), Iris Energy (IREN), Hive Digital Technologies (HIVE), and Bitfarms (BITF) jumped between 73% and 124% over the last month. In contrast, Bitcoin (BTC) declined by over 3% during the same timeframe.
The surge in mining stocks occurs despite ongoing pressures in industry fundamentals. The Bitcoin network’s upcoming difficulty adjustment is expected to increase by another 4.1%, which would signify the first period with an average hashrate exceeding the zetahash level, as reported by The Miner Mag.
This zetahash milestone was initially achieved in September, based on Bitcoin’s 14-day moving average hashrate. However, this achievement has done little to alleviate profitability challenges.
Hashprice remains below $55 per petahash second, constrained by increased network activity, while transaction fees have dipped under 0.8% of monthly rewards — indicating weaker on-chain activity.
Nonetheless, investors are favoring miners pursuing GPU and AI transitions, according to The Miner Mag. Hive Digital is accelerating its shift towards AI data center infrastructure, Iris Energy is advancing with Blackwell GPUs, and Terawulf is gaining momentum from its high-performance computing partnership with Google.
Related: Bitcoin network mining difficulty rises to a new all-time high
Bitcoin miner accumulation continues
Confronted with tighter profit margins, rising costs, and increased competition, Bitcoin miners are increasingly adopting diversification strategies to sustain operations.
In addition to reallocating resources towards AI and high-performance computing, many miners have also adopted a treasury strategy, retaining more of their mined Bitcoin in expectation of a future price increase.
Cointelegraph reported on this trend in January, noting a significant shift in miner accumulation that gained traction throughout 2024 as companies held onto a larger portion of their production.
“In 2024, a significant shift emerged among Bitcoin miners, with many choosing to retain a more considerable share of their mined Bitcoin or opting not to sell at all,” Digital Mining Solutions and BitcoinMiningStock.io remarked in a January report.
Miners seem to be reinforcing this strategy in September, with Glassnode data indicating rising wallet balances for three consecutive weeks. On September 9, net inflows reached 573 BTC — the largest daily increase since October 2023.
Magazine: Bitcoin’s long-term security budget problem: Impending crisis or FUD?
