Bitcoin Mining Stocks, GBTC Trading Volume More Than Most ETFs

• Bitcoin mining stocks, led by Marathon Digital, traded over $3.55 billion on January 8, surpassing tech giants like Tesla.
• Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) traded close to $500 million, outperforming 99% of existing ETFs.
• The Bitcoin mining sector is booming, with substantial investments and strategic agreements among industry players.

Bitcoin mining companies experienced significant trading volumes on U.S. stock exchanges, with some mining shares surpassing renowned U.S. tech giants.

On January 8, the combined trading volume of the two largest Bitcoin mining firms, Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms, amounted to $3.55 billion, as reported by Yahoo Finance.

Marathon Digital (MARA) claimed the top spot as the most traded stock in the United States for the day, with a total trading volume of 112 million shares, surpassing the likes of Tesla, AMD, Nvidia, and Apple. Tesla, the second most traded stock on that day, had a daily trading volume of around 85 million shares in comparison.

Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) also made waves, trading close to half a billion dollars on January 8. This trading volume exceeded that of over 99% of the 3,000 existing ETFs, as noted by industry expert Eric Balchunas.

The strong performance of GBTC coincides with the imminent approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs, with Grayscale aiming to convert or “uplist” its fund to a spot ETF upon receiving a green light from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Marathon’s exceptional performance aligns with the broader boom in the Bitcoin mining sector. Recently, Core Scientific secured a $55 million equity investment as it emerged from a debt crisis.

The offering, which expired last week, was oversubscribed, and the company plans to relist on the Nasdaq exchange once bankruptcy proceedings are finalized. CleanSpark also announced a strategic agreement to potentially acquire up to 160,000 miners by the end of 2024.