
For the third consecutive month, Bitcoin miners with high-performance computing (HPC) exposure have underperformed Bitcoin itself, according to a new report from JPMorgan.
Bitcoin’s market performance has outpaced miners with HPC exposure, including companies like IREN, RIOT, WULF, and HUT, despite the overall strength of the cryptocurrency market. This continuing trend has raised concerns about the miners’ ability to keep up with Bitcoin’s price appreciation.
JPMorgan analysts, including Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce, pointed out that the miners’ poor performance was a result of a variety of factors, including rising mining difficulty and increasing hashrate, which have put downward pressure on profits.
“Miners with HPC exposure (IREN, RIOT, WULF, HUT) have consistently lagged behind BTC for three months in a row,” the report noted.
Bitcoin’s increased network hashrate — climbing to 872 exahashes per second (EH/s) — has driven a 6% decline in daily block reward revenue from March to April, exacerbating the challenges for these miners.
Despite these struggles, the broader sector has seen some positive developments, with U.S.-listed mining stocks experiencing a 12% uptick in value during April. Greenidge (GREE), a key player in the industry, was highlighted for its 46% surge, thanks to a diversified approach and ability to adapt to new mining strategies.