Applied Digital Corporation

TeraWulf Inc.

Hut 8 Corp.

In 2025, the bitcoin mining sector rebounded strongly and outpaced the performance of the cryptocurrency itself. The Smid-cap Bitcoin Miner Equal Weight Index, put together by analyst Aldiyar Anuarbekov for Oninvest, gained 46%. The index includes 17 small- and mid-cap mining companies. Meanwhile, the&nbsp;Smid-cap Bitcoin Miner Cap Weight Index&nbsp;added 27%. By comparison, bitcoin fell 9.7% in 2025, while the S&amp;P 500 rose 16.3%. In 2026, investors are increasingly betting on companies at the intersection of mining and AI infrastructure.

Bitcoin miners outperformed the cryptocurrency in 2025. What about 2026?

Riot Platforms, Inc.

IREN Limited

Cipher Mining Inc.

The analytical company Arete started covering three bitcoin miners at once - Riot Platforms, Cipher Mining and Iren, assigning them "buy" ratings. The latter company stands out in particular: its securities have risen in price almost five times since the beginning of the year, with analysts expecting further growth of more than 60%. All these players, having a powerful infrastructure of data centers, earn not only on cryptocurrency mining, but also on the long-term lease of capacity for AI computing.

Three bitcoin miners have been recommended for purchase. One has 71% potential

WhiteFiber, Inc.

Preliminary trading in shares of US WhiteFiber, a subsidiary of bitcoin miner Bit Digital, has begun in the Freedom trading system for clients. WhiteFiber operates data centers, leasing computing power to developers of AI applications and machine learning systems. The company's securities are available by ticker symbol <a href="https://tradernet.global/what-to-buy/stocks/WYFI.US">WYFI</a>. They will appear on the Nasdaq exchange later Thursday.

WhiteFiber IPO: Shares of AI data center operator begin trading

Cango Inc.

MARA Holdings, Inc.

Core Scientific, Inc.

Stocks of mining companies, which lagged bitcoin through the end of April, have now joined and outpaced the cryptocurrency's gains. On Monday, July 14, bitcoin broke the psychologically important $120,000 mark. Meanwhile, as of yesterday, July 15, the CoinShares Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI) is up 29.0% over the last month and the Grayscale Bitcoin Miners ETF (MNRS) has gained nearly 18.5%, while bitcoin itself has added just over 10.0%. Meanwhile, inflows into Bitcoin ETFs are breaking <a href="https://coinfomania.com/bitcoin-and-ethereum-etfs-see-3-63b-inflows-amid-bullish-signals/">records</a>: $2.72 billion came in last week, from July 7 to July 11.

How long can crypto miners keep outperforming bitcoin?



Nasdaq has warned Gryphon Digital Mining, a small-cap company that brands itself as a carbon-neutral bitcoin miner, that it could be delisted for its noncompliance with the exchange’s minimum market value requirement. In fact, this is just one of the company’s listing violations. Gryphon will try to pursuade an exchange panel to give it another chance in April.

Crypto Mining