The stock market yesterday, December 27, reflected a surge in investor interest in Bitcoin-related stocks ahead of potential ETF approvals.
Shares of Bitcoin mining companies soared, surpassing the cryptocurrency’s gains, as they anticipated an upcoming Bitcoin ETF approval. Marathon (MARA) led the charge as trading volumes increased, surpass even Tesla’s activity on the trading floor.
Per Yahoo Finance dataMarathon shares rose to $31.07, up 15.24%, with trading volume reaching a sky-high 105.657 million, significantly higher than the three-month average of 47.8 million. Additionally, for all stocks above the $100 million market cap threshold, Marathon finished the day (including after-hours trading) second behind Niokola. This bullish behavior dwarfed Bitcoin’s performance, which saw a more modest 3% gain during US trading hours.
| Symbol | Name | Price | Change | % Change | Volume | Avg. volume (3 months) | Market capitalization |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NKLA | Nikola Corporation | 0.8921 | 0.0048 | 0.0054 | 112,298 | 74,423 million | 1,033B |
| MARA | Marathon Patent Group, Inc. | 31.07 | 4.11 | 0.1524 | 105,657 | 48,811 million | 6.917B |
| TSLA | Tesla, Inc. | 261.44 | 4.83 | 0.0188 | 105,536 | 120.157M | 831.097B |
| NIO | NIO Inc. | 9.1 | -0.23 | -2.47% | 98,579 | 48,524 million | 16.252B |
| BITF | Bit farms ltd. | 3.51 | 0.27 | 0.0833 | 56,283 | 20,227M | 1.132B |
| CHRS | Coherus BioSciences, Inc. | 2.69 | 0.51 | 0.2339 | 52,173 | 5,417 million | 299,569 million |
| WULF | TeraWulf Inc. | 2.88 | 0.66 | 0.2973 | 50,356 | 11,673 million | 693.835 million |
| AMD | Advanced Microdevices, Inc. | 146.07 | 2.66 | 0.0185 | 48,595 | 56,366 million | 235.976B |
| SOFI | SoFi Technologies, Inc. | 10.32 | 0.36 | 0.0361 | 43,919 | 39,622 million | 9,894B |
| NARRATE | Tellurian Inc. | 0.9485 | 0.0666 | 0.0755 | 42,475 | 34.78 million | 602.148M |
| REVOLT | Riot Blockchain, Inc. | 18.62 | 1.27 | 0.0732 | 42,035 | 26,359 million | 3.845B |
| INTC | Intel Corporation | 50.76 | 0.26 | 0.0051 | 51,822 | 38,783 million | 214.004B |
| AAPL | Apple Inc. | 193.15 | 0.1 | 0.0005 | 47,928 | 53.39 million | 3.004T |
| F | Ford Motor Company | 12.39 | -0.06 | -0.48% | 39,815 | 54,514 million | 49.597B |
| CAN | Kanaan Inc. | 3.19 | 0.16 | 0.0528 | 35,906 | 8,269 million | 545,637 million |
| TLRY | Tilray Brands, Inc. | 2.24 | -0.05 | -2.18% | 32,813 | 15,907 million | 1,657B |
| GOEV | Canoe Inc. | 0.2467 | 0.0127 | 0.0543 | 32,695 | 27,476 million | 193,926 million |
| PFE | Pfizer Inc. | 28.61 | 0.2 | 0.007 | 34,539 | 39.49 million | 161.544B |
| IOVA | Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. | 7.23 | -1.66 | -18.67% | 31,204 | 7,061 million | 1.85B |
| BLNK | Blink Charging Co. | 3.68 | -0.44 | -10.68% | 30,042 | 5,339 million | 248.061M |
| in parentheses | Bitdigital, Inc. | 4.98 | 0.78 | 0.1857 | 28,496 | 5,698 million | 451.975 million |
| PLTR | Palantir Technologies Inc. | 17.47 | -0.21 | -1.19% | 29,258 | 62.325 million | 38.015B |
| T | AT&T Inc. | 16.58 | 0.01 | 0.0006 | 27,674 | 37.58 million | 118.547B |
| CIFR | Cipher Mining Inc. | 5.27 | 0.29 | 0.0582 | 26,997 | 4,523 million | 1.355B |
| AMZN | Amazon.com, Inc. | 153.34 | -0.07 | -0.05% | 30,235 | 51,244 million | 1,585T |
| CLSK | CleanSpark, Inc. | 13.43 | 1.69 | 0.144 | 27,112 | 21,046M | 2,481B |
| BKKT | Bakkt Holdings, Inc. | 2.36 | 0.56 | 0.3111 | 25,836 | 3,017 million | 215,774 million |
| CCL | Carnival company | 18.54 | -0.07 | -0.38% | 25,448 | 31,911 million | 24.218B |
| BAC | Bank of America Corporation | 33.84 | -0.02 | -0.06% | 22,521 | 48.3 million | 267.801B |
| RIVN | Rivian Automotive, Inc. | 23.73 | 0.14 | 0.0059 | 22,445 | 42,067M | 22.727B |
| PLUG | Plug Power Inc. | 4.71 | -0.07 | -1.46% | 23,925 | 35,643 million | 2,852B |
| AAL | American Airlines Group Inc. | 13.99 | -0.12 | -0.85% | 23,123 | 36,908 million | 9.143B |
| CYTK | Cytokinetics, recorded | 83.44 | 37.73 | 0.8254 | 22,015 | 2,229 million | 8.182B |
| NVDA | NVIDIA company | 494.17 | 1.38 | 0.0028 | 23,193 | 42,668 million | 1,221T |
Bitfarms (BITF), TeraWulf (WULF) and Riot Blockchain (RIOT) also witnessed notable trading appetite, with trading volumes totaling 148 million shares traded, approximately double the stocks’ average volume.
Bit Digital (BTBT), CleanSpark (CLSK), Canaan (CAN) and Cipher Mining (CIFR) rounded out the list of top performers, up 18.57%, 14.40%, 5.28% and 5.82 respectively %. These companies also experienced trading volumes significantly higher than their recent averages, demonstrating strong market interest.
Notably, the top 35 stocks (market capitalization over $100 million) recorded a total volume of 1.45 billion shares traded. Of those stocks, 372 million involved Bitcoin mining, which accounts for about 25% of the stocks traded within this segment.
The rebound in these stocks highlights broader market interest in the Bitcoin space and the desire to gain exposure to stocks with potentially high beta for impending spot Bitcoin ETFs. This move and today’s trading data indicate a market brimming with anticipation and a keen eye on the regulatory horizon.
Furthermore, as we approach the next halving in 2024, today’s rising Bitcoin transaction fees are buoying miners, hoping that continued higher fees can offset the decline in block rewards. If miners can handle the halving better than expected due to the increase in writing costs, mining companies could experience outsized returns compared to historical estimates after the halving.