As 2025 draws to a close, Bitcoin BTC$87,555.35 It's been a tough year, with stocks down about 7% since the start of the year, while gold, the S&P 500, and technology stocks continue to hit record highs.
As a result, Bitcoin mining public stocks present a striking contrast, driven primarily by diversification into artificial intelligence (AI) and high performance computing (HPC) infrastructure. The standout performers are those that are actively transforming to AI.
IREN (IREN) led the way with a massive +300% year-to-date (YTD) gain, driven by a major GPU cloud deal and backing from Microsoft.
Cipher Mining (CIFR) continues its strong run with +230%, especially as it expands its AI hosting partnership with Fluidstack.
Hut8 (HUT) also soared, gaining about +139%. This is capped by AI's recent announcement of a 245 MW, $7 billion, 15-year AI data center lease at its River Bend site in Louisiana.
In contrast, three of the four largest Bitcoin holders among public miners underperformed AI/HPC miners.
Marathon Digital (MARA), the top BTC hodler among miners with 53,250 BTC, has fallen -44% year-to-date. CleanSpark (CLSK) (13,011 BTC) and Riot Platforms (RIOT) (19,324 BTC) posted modest gains of 16% and 32%, respectively, but did not have active AI diversification until much later this year.
Core Scientific (CORZ) remained independent after shareholders rejected Coreweave's $9 billion all-stock takeover offer in October, betting on increasing standalone value amid demand for AI. The company's stock price is up just 9% since the beginning of the year.
BitDeer Technologies (BTDR), the sector's largest underperforming mining company, is down about 50%. Most of the losses came after the company released its third-quarter results, in which the company reported a higher-than-expected net loss, disclosed delays to its ASIC chips, and heightened uncertainty around its AI expansion plans.
This year, a clear trend has emerged. Miners have turned sites into AI data centers and outperformed pure Bitcoin operators.
