As 2025 draws to a close, bitcoin faced 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 sharp contrasts, driven largely by diversification into artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure. The standout performers have been companies that aggressively pivoted to AI.
IREN (IREN) led the way with a massive +300% year-to-date (YTD) gain, driven by big GPU cloud deals and Microsoft’s backing.
Cipher Mining (CIFR) followed strongly with +230% and expanded AI hosting partnerships specifically with Fluidstack.
Hut 8 ( HUT ) also soared, up about +139%, capped by its latest AI announcement: a 15-year, $7 billion AI data center lease for 245 MW at the River Bend site in Louisiana.
In contrast, three of the four largest bitcoin holders among public miners outperformed the AI/HPC miners.
Marathon Digital (MARA), the top BTC holder among miners with 53,250 BTC, fell -44% YTD. 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 stand-alone value amid demand for artificial intelligence. Its shares are up just 9% year-to-date.
Bitdeer Technologies ( BTDR ), the biggest miner underperformer in the sector, is down about 50%. The bulk of the losses came after the company’s third-quarter earnings announcement, in which the company reported a larger-than-expected net loss and disclosed a delay on its ASIC chip, adding uncertainty to its AI expansion plans.
This year highlighted a clear trend: miners repurposing sites for AI data centers outperformed pure bitcoin operators.
