Market Performance Overview
The Bitcoin mining stocks market has experienced a slight decline of 1.8% compared to the previous week. The majority of these stocks closed the week in the red, coinciding with a significant dip in trading volume by 25.66%.
At the beginning of the week, BTC mining stocks recorded a trading volume of $413.5k, which subsequently dropped to $307.35k by Friday. The market capitalization, which stood at $69.12 billion on November 28th, decreased to $67.89 billion by December 5th.
Bitcoin Mining Stocks: A Detailed Look
Out of the 34 Bitcoin mining stocks listed on trading markets, six stocks concluded the week with gains, while the remaining 25 stocks experienced a downturn.
Notable among the top 10 Bitcoin mining stocks that ended the week in the green were Applied Digital Corporation (ticker: APLD) and Core Scientific, Inc. (ticker: CORZ). Applied Digital Corporation (APLD) achieved gains of 15.20%, and Core Scientific, Inc. (CORZ) saw a positive performance of 1.30% over the same period.
On December 2nd, Applied Digital made a strategic investment of $25 million in a funding round for Corintis, a Swiss company specializing in advanced chip-cooling solutions. This initiative aims to enhance efficiency and power density within data centers that handle AI workloads. Applied Digital's objective is to broaden its presence in the design, construction, and operation of high-performance data centers through strategic investments and partnerships.
VR Advisory Services, an asset management firm, acquired over 1.2 million shares of CORZ stock during the third quarter. This acquisition was officially disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dated November 14th. By the end of the week, CORZ closed at $17.11, while APLD was trading at $31.22.
Other mining stocks that registered gains over the past week include SATO Technologies Corp., SOS Limited, Cathedra Bitcoin, Inc., and Ebang International Holdings, Inc.
Key Losers and Market Dynamics
The most significant loser of the week was American Bitcoin Corp. (ticker: ABTC), which saw its stock price drop by 47.40% within five days. The company, co-founded by Eric Trump, faced a challenging week, with its stock falling from $5.75 at the start of the week to $2.23 by Friday.
The substantial sell-off of ABTC shares occurred even as Bitcoin's price surged past $91,000. While crypto-linked stocks generally followed Bitcoin's upward trend, ABTC's decline was attributed to a share unlock that allowed early private investors to liquidate their holdings for the first time.
Eric Trump addressed the situation on X, stating, "Today our pre-merger private placement shares unlocked — these early investors are freely available to cash in on their profits for the first time, which is why we will see volatility."
American Bitcoin became publicly traded in September through a reverse merger with Gryphon Digital. This particular financial structure inherently makes ABTC susceptible to volatility and attracts speculative trading activity.
Surging Bitcoin Production Costs
Data from CryptoRank indicates that the average cash cost to mine one Bitcoin among public miners has risen to $74,600. When factoring in depreciation and stock-based compensation (SBC), the all-in cost escalates to $137,800.
Mining profitability has significantly decreased, particularly following the hashrate's ascent beyond the 1 zettahashes per second (ZH/s) mark. The competitive landscape among public Bitcoin miners is exceptionally intense.
In response to these pressures, Bitcoin mining companies are increasingly diversifying their revenue streams by venturing into artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads, aiming to offset mining-related losses. AI data centers generally offer more robust profit margins compared to Bitcoin mining operations.
Bitcoin is currently trading at approximately $91,000. CoinGecko data shows that BTC has increased by 2.2% in the past 24 hours, although the fear and greed index suggests a state of extreme fear within the market.