Bitcoin Mining Sector Is Attracting Growing Investor Interest Following Core Scientific Deal: JPMorgan

As a crypto investor, I’ve noticed an intriguing development in the market lately. The combined market capitalization of the 14 miners monitored by the bank has experienced a significant surge of 22%, or approximately $4 billion, since their recent announcement. In contrast, Bitcoin itself has dipped by 7%, while the S&P 500 stock index has only risen by 3%.

Analysts Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce expressed this idea: The use of mining facilities for alternative, potentially lucrative applications, as well as the limited and expensive access to power sources, is highlighted by their assessment. They further stated that Core Scientific’s deal signifies and expedites miners expanding into high performance computing (HPC) initiatives.

As an analyst, I would interpret this passage as follows: Iris Energy, which is currently rated overweight in my assessment, stands out as the prime contender to seize the opportunity at hand. The company boasts excess power capacity and maintains flexibility in its operations beyond bitcoin mining. Iris Energy’s early adoption of High Performance Computing (HPC) trends has already resulted in the deployment of graphics processing units (GPUs) at their facilities, as acknowledged by the report. Additionally, the firm possesses a proven track record for delivering top-tier data centers on schedule and benefits from a substantial power supply.

IFR, or Neutral-rated Cipher Mining, boasts affordable power expenses and a robust operational track record. However, it lags behind Iris Energy in terms of available power sources, according to the bank’s assessment.

As a crypto investor, I’ve noticed that Riot Platforms (RIO), which is highly regarded by JPMorgan with an overweight rating, continues to prioritize its commitment to Bitcoin mining. Despite having an ample amount of power capacity for high-performance computing (HPC) tasks, the company has shown little enthusiasm in this area. Instead, it’s focusing on maximizing its Bitcoin mining operations.

As an analyst, I would rephrase that sentence as follows: Marathon Digital, with an underweight rating, and CleanSpark, rated neutral, present the highest costs for supplying enterprise-level energy among the companies under review.