Apple, which announced its Vision Pro headset in June, saw its share price grow by 55% in 2023. Meanwhile, Amazon stock gained 79% as its AWS division pushed for AI-focused products.
But these leading “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks did not make it into the top ten by yearly returns for 2023. The tech industry stocks that did were all Bitcoin mining stocks. Moreover, Wall Street’s top ten performers this year included not one, not two or three, but four Bitcoin mining companies.
Wall Street Mania For Bitcoin Mining Stocks
The impressive showing proves that mainstream investor interest in cryptocurrency is increasing. The four Bitcoin mining stocks that outperformed nearly the entire market were:
- Cipher Mining (CIFR) at number three for the entire year after gaining 1,042% in 12 months
- Marathon Digital (MARA) at number four with 783% ROI
- CleanSpark (CLSK) up 590% at number seven on Wall Street
- Riot Blockchain (RIOT) at number ten with one-year gains of 430%
These companies even outperformed Bitcoin price gains of 157% for the year. That suggests there is strong demand by more traditional investors for a safe, regulated way to get cryptocurrency exposure into their portfolios.
“Crypto stocks are trading almost like a mania,” said Galaxy Digital CEO Michael Novogratz.
Several 2023 Tailwinds For Miners
Bitcoin mining stocks did so well as a result of the rally in Bitcoin prices this year.
The halving cycle is gearing up for another bull run, and the SEC is supposedly preparing to approve a batch of Bitcoin ETF proposals, which could put a heavy thaw on the long Bitcoin price winter of 2022.
Other tailwinds supporting price gains for Bitcoin mining stocks this year include surging transaction fees in 2023 as the rising price and sustained demand for Ordinals inscriptions overloaded the network.
Development milestones and increased hash rate capacity also drew investor interest in these four mining stocks. Cipher Mining, for example, topped 7.2 exahashes per second (EH/s) in hash power after opening a new facility in Odessa, Texas. The company reported a strong Q3 balance sheet, according to GuruFocus.
Higher profits from the Bitcoin block reward and mining fees plus more capital inflows from Wall Street might allow these companies to continue to invest in next-generation ASIC mining machines to stay competitive in the Bitcoin hash race as the countdown to the April 2024 halving continues.
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