Cipher, Terawulf, Iris Energy, Hive and Bitfarms rallied sharply in September, outpacing Bitcoin despite tightening mining economics and weaker onchain activity.
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Bitcoin mining stocks extended their recovery in September, outpacing Bitcoin even as industry economics remain under pressure and hardware payback periods stretch longer.
According to The Miner Mag’s latest industry update, shares of Cipher Mining (CIFR), Terawulf (WULF), Iris Energy (IREN), Hive Digital Technologies (HIVE) and Bitfarms (BITF) surged between 73% and 124% over the past month. By contrast, Bitcoin () slipped more than 3% over the same period.
The rally in mining stocks comes despite continued pressure on industry fundamentals. The Bitcoin network’s next difficulty adjustment is projected to rise another 4.1%, which would “mark the first epoch with an average hashrate above the zetahash mark,” The Miner Mag reported.
That 1 zetahash milestone was first reached in September, based on Bitcoin’s 14-day moving average hashrate. Yet the achievement has done little to ease profitability strains.
Hashprice remains stuck below $55 petahash per second, pressured by rising network activity, while transaction fees have slipped under 0.8% of monthly rewards — a sign of weaker onchain activity.
Even so, investors are rewarding miners pursuing GPU and AI pivots, The Miner Mag said. Hive Digital is accelerating its , Iris Energy is ramping up with Blackwell GPUs, and Terawulf has drawn momentum from its .
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Faced with tighter profit margins, rising costs and growing competition, Bitcoin miners are increasingly turning to diversification strategies to stay afloat.
Beyond pivoting resources toward AI and high-performance computing, many miners have also embraced a treasury strategy, holding onto more mined Bitcoin in anticipation of a future price surge.
in January, highlighting a notable shift in miner accumulation that gained momentum through 2024 as companies retained a larger share of their production.
“In 2024, a notable shift emerged among Bitcoin miners, with many opting to retain a larger portion of their mined Bitcoin or refraining from selling altogether,” Digital Mining Solutions and BitcoinMiningStock.io wrote in a January .
Miners appear to be doubling down on this strategy in September, with Glassnode data showing wallet balances rising for three consecutive weeks. On Sept. 9, — the largest daily increase since October 2023.
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