As 2025 comes to an end, Bitcoin has had a rough year, down about 7% year to date, while gold, the S&P 500 and tech stocks continue to hit all-time highs.
As a result, public Bitcoin mining stocks have shown stark contrasts, driven largely by diversification into artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure. The most successful companies have been companies that have aggressively pivoted to AI.
IREN (IREN) leads with a massive +300% year-to-date (YTD) gain, fueled by major cloud GPU deals and support from Microsoft.
Cipher Mining (CIFR) followed strongly at +230%, expanding AI hosting partnerships specifically with Fluidstack.
Hut 8 (HUT) also soared, up about +139%, capped by its recent AI announcement: a $7 billion, 15-year AI data center lease for 245 MW at its River Bend, Louisiana, site.
In contrast, three of the four largest bitcoin holders among public miners underperformed AI/HPC miners.
Marathon Digital (MARA), the top BTC holder among miners with 53,250 BTC, is down 44% year to date. CleanSpark (CLSK) (13,011 BTC) and Riot Platforms (RIOT) (19,324 BTC) saw modest gains of 16% and 32% respectively, without aggressive AI diversification until much later in the year.
Core Scientific (CORZ) remained independent after shareholders rejected a $9 billion takeover bid from CoreWeave in October, betting on higher standalone value in the face of demand for AI. Its shares are up just 9% year to date.
Bitdeer Technologies (BTDR), the largest underperforming mining company in the sector, is down about 50%. The bulk of the losses came after announcing its third-quarter results, when the company reported a larger-than-expected net loss and revealed a delay in its ASIC chip, adding uncertainty around its AI expansion plans.
This year has highlighted a clear trend: miners repurposing their sites into AI data centers, which have outperformed pure-play Bitcoin operators.
