According to ChainCatcher news, as reported by CoinDesk, Bitcoin mining companies are at a critical crossroads: they can choose to pivot towards artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) to boost their stock prices, or they can stick to their core Bitcoin mining business and expand their market share while facing sluggish stock prices.In September, the largest market cap mining companies, MARA Holdings (MARA), Riot Platforms (RIOT), and CleanSpark (CLSK), all increased their share of the total Bitcoin mined. These companies have stronger balance sheets and larger mining operations, which help them cope with the decline in profitability following the Bitcoin halving in April. However, investors have not rewarded these companies' stocks with a premium, and their performance remained lackluster in September.In contrast, mining companies focusing on AI and HPC, such as Core Scientific (CORZ), TerraWulf (WULF), and IREN (IREN), have seen their stock prices outperform Bitcoin. The halving in April reduced Bitcoin mining rewards by 50%, intensifying competition in mining and narrowing profit margins.Additionally, the recently approved spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. has also diminished investors' interest in mining stocks. Instead, investors are rewarding those mining companies that utilize part of their data centers to host AI and HPC-related machines for revenue diversification.AI and HPC computing require a significant amount of electricity, and Bitcoin miners have already secured these resources, making them ideal candidates for rapidly expanding AI and HPC companies. In September, the stock prices of large-cap mining companies rose by 4% to 9%, while those associated with AI and HPC saw price increases of up to 25%.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, U.S. District Court Judge Jamel Semper dismissed a class action lawsuit against the Bitcoin mining company Iris Energy without prejudice, ruling that the investors who brought the lawsuit failed to prove that the company had ever made false statements or intentionally misled investors.The lawsuit accused Iris Energy, its executives, and its underwriters (including JPMorgan and Citigroup Global Markets) of violating the Securities Act and the Securities Exchange Act during its 2021 IPO. The plaintiffs claimed that there were several key inaccuracies in the documents related to the Australian crypto mining company's IPO in November 2021 and in other statements made in the following months. Additionally, they alleged that Iris concealed risks and failed to disclose information regarding loans for financing mining equipment, making several "false and misleading" statements about the company's overall financial condition, including its profits, losses, and assets on hand.However, Judge Semper found that Iris was not obligated to disclose all details of its loan financing, and the plaintiffs failed to prove that Iris's disclosures were materially misleading.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Macquarie, the Australian multinational investment bank, has given "outperform" ratings to several Bitcoin mining companies including MARA, Riot Platforms, Core Scientific, CleanSpark, and Cipher Mining. Analysts believe these companies are shifting focus from cryptocurrency to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) models.Macquarie analysts Paul Golding and Emma Liang noted that in recent years, Bitcoin mining businesses have become increasingly diversified, a trend that has accelerated following Bitcoin's fourth halving in April this year. Some mining companies view their unique power resource advantages as opportunities to diversify into non-crypto-related hosting businesses, while others focus on accumulating Bitcoin assets.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, Bitcoin mining company Bitfarms announced a hosting agreement with Stronghold Digital Mining to add 10,000 Bitmain T21 mining machines to its Panther Creek mining facility in Pennsylvania, with operations set to begin on October 1, 2024, which will increase Bitfarms' hash rate by 2.2 EH/s.It is reported that Bitfarms will pay Stronghold a fee equivalent to 50% of the profits generated by the miners, which will be renewed annually according to the terms of the hosting agreement until either party decides not to renew the contract.

ChainCatcher news, investment bank Jefferies stated in a research report on Wednesday that Bitcoin mining profits in August were far lower than in July, as the average price of Bitcoin fell by more than 4%, while the average network hash rate increased by about 2.7%. The report also noted that September will be another tough month, as BTC remains below $60,000 and the network hash rate continues to rise.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Bitcoin mining company Bitfarms reported a mining output of 233 BTC in August, with its current holdings increasing to 1,103 BTC.Meanwhile, competitor Riot is attempting to acquire Bitfarms and is about to hold a crucial special meeting, for which the company has written an open letter to Bitfarms' shareholders.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, Bitcoin mining company Bitfarms has announced its agreement to acquire competitor Stronghold Digital (SDIG) for $175 million.Bitfarms stated in a press release that the offer includes exchanging 2.52 shares of Bitfarms stock for each share of Stronghold, representing a 71% premium over Stronghold's 90-day volume-weighted average price on Nasdaq as of August 16. Stronghold indicated in May that it was exploring strategic alternatives, including the sale of the company.Previous news, as reported by Bloomberg citing informed sources, Bitcoin mining company Bitfarms is negotiating to acquire Stronghold Digital Mining Inc. for approximately $164 million, while also fending off acquisition attempts from Riot Platforms Inc.

ChainCatcher news, according to a report by Coindesk, research and brokerage firm Bernstein has pointed out that U.S.-listed Bitcoin mining companies have a significant advantage over their unlisted counterparts due to their ability to raise funds in the world's deepest capital markets. This ease of capital acquisition provides them with more financial options, making them more competitive, especially in capital-intensive industries.Bernstein noted that large publicly traded Bitcoin miners in the U.S. are gradually becoming consolidators in the industry. Leading miners should focus on expanding market share and increasing hash rates, rather than compensating for funding needs by selling mined cryptocurrencies at low prices. Recently, the financing actions of Marathon Digital, Riot Platforms, Core Scientific, and Bitdeer further support this view, as these companies have raised funds through the issuance of convertible bonds and stocks to expand their market influence.Additionally, Bernstein emphasized that although Bitcoin mining and artificial intelligence (AI) data centers share similarities in power demand and high-density power specifications, their business models are entirely different. Nevertheless, scaling is crucial for both. The report also reiterated that with the increase in institutional adoption and the popularity of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Bitcoin prices are expected to reach a new high of around $200,000 by 2025.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, analysts from research and brokerage firm Bernstein pointed out that Bitcoin mining companies are shifting their focus to the artificial intelligence and high-performance computing (HPC) data center market, which has sparked strong interest from investors. Gautam Chhugani, Mahika Sapra, and Sanskar Chindalia wrote in a report to clients on Monday: "We see strong investor interest in Bitcoin mining companies pursuing AI/HPC, and these investors are also questioning whether all mining companies should pivot to AI."This operational shift is referred to as the "Mullet" strategy: AI data centers at the front end, Bitcoin mining at the back end. The report on Monday stated that the current mining landscape is almost evenly split, with companies focused on Bitcoin mining and those transitioning to become AI data centers each accounting for half. This strategy may require mining companies to incorporate GPU-based AI-specific machines into their facilities, as ASIC mining machines are not suitable for AI training tasks. However, Bernstein's report noted that mining companies transitioning to focus on the AI data center market face specific challenges. While Bitcoin mining and AI data centers share similarities in power capacity and high-density power specifications, they have entirely different business models.The analysts added: "Bitcoin mining companies pursue proprietary strategies for self-mining, engaging in the business of converting electricity into Bitcoin at costs below market prices. Therefore, the only thing that matters is increasing Bitcoin output/hash rate market share and a consistent financial strategy, which is not to sell Bitcoin at a loss." According to the report's perspective, leading Bitcoin mining companies should focus on Bitcoin mining market share, ensuring that hash rate growth outpaces the total hash rate, and not selling Bitcoin at a loss.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, VanEck recently stated in a report: "AI companies need energy, and Bitcoin miners have energy." The company believes that Bitcoin mining companies face profitability risks from fluctuations in operating costs and Bitcoin prices, and they may find it a good strategic choice to shift some energy capacity to the growing fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC).VanEck stated: "The balance sheets of Bitcoin mining companies are usually poor, either due to excessive debt, too many shares issued, excessively high executive compensation, or a combination of all three."VanEck estimates that if publicly listed Bitcoin mining companies shift 20% of their energy capacity to AI and high-performance computing by 2027, "the total additional profit per year will average over $13.9 billion over 13 years."Meanwhile, VanEck pointed out that the benefit for Bitcoin mining companies to sign such contracts is that these AI companies are usually willing to provide the financial resources needed for capital expenditures.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Bernstein has rated Riot Platforms, CleanSpark, IREN, and Core Scientific as "outperforming the market," while Marathon Digital has been rated as "market perform."The "outperforming the market" rating is a positive assessment from analysts, indicating that the stock is expected to exceed the performance of its market or industry. In contrast, the "market perform" rating is a neutral evaluation, suggesting expected average performance.These assessments are based on five key indicators: production and hash rate, operational and energy efficiency, power consumption, hash cost, and each company's artificial intelligence strategy.

ChainCatcher news, Bitcoin mining company TeraWulf announced its Q2 financial report, with a production of 699 BTC in the quarter, a year-on-year decrease of 21%. Q2 revenue was $35.6 million, slightly above the market expectation of $35.4 million.Additionally, the company reported a quarterly loss per share of $0.03, lower than the expected loss per share of $0.02. The company also noted that the cost of Bitcoin mining increased by 243% year-on-year, with mining expenses rising from $6,688/BTC in Q2 2023 to $22,954/BTC in Q2 2024.Meanwhile, TeraWulf stated that it will continue to focus on expanding into high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence in the second half of the year, and has already begun construction of a new building at its Lake Mariner facility. This facility is expected to contribute an additional 50 megawatts of infrastructure capacity when it goes online in Q1 2025.

According to ChainCatcher news, statistics from HODL15Capital show that among the listed Bitcoin mining companies, Marathon Digital holds 20,818 BTC, ranking first. Following is Riot Platforms, holding 9,334 BTC; Hut 8 holds 9,109 BTC, ranking third.The holdings of other mining companies are as follows:Cleanspark holds 7,082 BTC;Hive Digital holds 2,496 BTC;Cifer Mining holds 2,270 BTC;Canaan holds 1,057 BTC;Bit Digital holds 1,038 BTC;Bitfarms holds 1,016 BTC.

ChainCatcher news, CryptoQuant founder and CEO Ki Young Ju posted on social media that the average Bitcoin mining cost for U.S. mining companies is currently about $43,000.Marathon Digital's Q2 2024 report shows that the company's average mining cost per Bitcoin is $42,969. This can be calculated using their operational hash rate, the cost per terahash per day, and the average number of Bitcoins mined per day.

ChainCatcher news, according to TheBlock, Bitcoin mining company MARA (formerly Marathon Digital) recently announced that it has purchased $100 million worth of Bitcoin, bringing its Bitcoin holdings on the balance sheet to over 20,000 coins, approximately $1.3 billion, close to 0.1% of the total Bitcoin supply. MARA's Chief Financial Officer Salman Khan stated that the company made this strategic purchase under favorable market conditions but did not disclose the specific purchase time and average price.According to Bitcoin financial data, MARA held 18,536 BTC at the end of June, so this purchase may be around 1,500 BTC, with a price range between $54,000 and $68,000. MARA also stated that it will fully adopt a "HODL" strategy, retaining all Bitcoin obtained from mining and planning to make additional purchases regularly. The company's Chairman and CEO Fred Thiel emphasized that Bitcoin is the best reserve asset globally and encouraged governments and enterprises to hold it as a reserve asset.Additionally, MARA has reduced the proportion of Bitcoin sold from 56% in 2023 to 31% in 2024. Khan pointed out that given the current market environment for Bitcoin and the increasing institutional support, MARA has decided to re-implement this strategy, focusing on increasing its Bitcoin holdings on the balance sheet.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin.com, the National Electricity Administration of Paraguay (ANDE) has recently raised electricity prices, prompting Bitcoin mining companies to seek alternatives in neighboring countries such as Argentina and Brazil.A joint venture between companies in Argentina and Brazil recently announced an 8-megawatt plan aimed at generating 200 megawatts of power by 2026. Fernando Arriola, president of the Paraguayan Fintech Chamber, announced that several companies have signed documents to move their operations to Argentina.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, based on a report by JPMorgan analysts, as of June 15, the market capitalization of publicly listed Bitcoin mining companies in the United States reached a record of $22.8 billion.JPMorgan analysts Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce wrote in a report to clients on Monday that in the first half of June, 14 publicly listed stocks in the U.S. rose, with Core Scientific, TeraWulf, and IREN increasing by 117%, 80%, and 70%, respectively.Argo Blockchain was the only mining company to see a price decline in June, with a drop of 7%, underperforming Bitcoin's price decline of 3%.Marathon Digital is currently the largest Bitcoin mining company by market capitalization in the U.S., valued at $5.3 billion, followed by CleanSpark and Riot Platforms, with market capitalizations of $4 billion and $3 billion, respectively.