How come Bitcoin miners are outpacing Bitcoin itself?

Once dismissed as leveraged bets on Bitcoin, Bitcoin mining companies have emerged as a legitimate power-infrastructure and digital-compute businesses, outperforming not only Bitcoin itself for much of the year but also every major equity index.

By late October, Bitcoin traded near $120,000, up roughly 11% year-to-date after a strong first half and a correction toward $100,000. Yet miners outperformed sharply: Iris Energy (IREN) surged over 500% YTD, while Marathon Digital (MARA) and Riot Platforms (RIOT) handily beat the S&P 500’s ~14% gain. 

The Global X Blockchain ETF (BKCH), a proxy for the sector, rose about 83%, underscoring miners’ 2–3x operational leverage during bullish cycles.

Financial and operational strength

The combined market capitalization of the top 30 public miners surpassed $80 billion¹ by October, marking a structural re-rating from speculative proxies to infrastructure plays.

• Marathon Digital (MARA): Q3 revenue of $252 million and $123 million in net income, mining 2,144 BTC at sub-$40,000 energy costs per coin.² 
• Riot Platforms (RIOT): $180 million in quarterly revenue, $104 million in net income³, and a hash rate above 36 Exahash Per Second (EH/s).
• CleanSpark (CLSK): reached 50 EH/s⁴ midyear, ranking among the world’s top five miners.
• Iris Energy (IREN): nearly 100% renewable power, 579 BTC mined in April, expanded past 50 EH/s⁵, and delivered standout equity performance.

Across the sector, margins climbed to 40-50%, with some exceeding 60% when unrealized Bitcoin gains were included. Publicly listed miners now collectively hold more than 120,000 BTC (~$12 billion), establishing themselves as institutional-scale holders.

Why are mining equities outperforming Bitcoin?

Operational leverage in a bull market

With average production costs near $35,000–$45,000, Bitcoin above $100,000 delivered extraordinary profit margins. Marathon’s gross margin topped 70%, Riot’s exceeded 60%, while the global network hash rate topped 1,000 EH/s, illustrating the scale at which these efficiencies were realized. Fixed infrastructure and energy contracts amplified earnings sensitivity, turning modest Bitcoin price gains into exponential profit growth.

Institutional capital and ETF-driven flows

The approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in early 2024 unleashed sustained institutional demand. By late 2025, asset managers had invested $1 billion into mining equities, while the WGMI ETF reached $500 million in assets under management. Mining stocks became embedded in mainstream portfolios as investors sought “high-beta Bitcoin exposure with cash-flow optionality.”

Energy economics and efficiency gains

Miners are optimizing power use through renewables and flexible grid partnerships. Marathon leverages wind and gas in Texas⁶, while Riot⁷ earns credits for reducing⁸ demand during grid stress. Mining machines became a lot more efficient, using less electricity to do the same work. Top companies improved from 27 units of electricity per job to less than 22⁹, with some using even less. Over 50% of power consumption at major listed miners now originates from renewable or zero-carbon sources¹⁰, highlighting the sector’s accelerating transition toward sustainable power.

Convergence with AI and high-performance computing 

The rise of AI workloads in mid-2025 transformed miners into broader data-infrastructure operators. Iris Energy¹¹ and Core Scientific¹² launched AI-oriented divisions, channeling new investment¹³ into GPU-based high-performance computing (HPC) instead of traditional ASIC mining, such as Riot’s partnership with Microsoft’s. The shift unlocked additional revenue opportunities while utilizing existing energy and cooling resources.

The bottom line?

Holding Bitcoin is a bet on scarcity and adoption. Owning miners adds leverage, execution, and exposure to the digital-energy economy.

In strong markets, mining companies can outperform through efficiency, scale, and diversification into power and AI infrastructure. In downturns, those same dynamics magnify risk. Ultimately, miners are not simple proxies for Bitcoin but cyclical infrastructure businesses whose value depends on execution, energy economics, and balance sheet discipline as much as on Bitcoin’s price itself.

‍

Footnotes:

1. Bitcoin Mining Stock. Homepage, https://bitcoinminingstock.io/.
   
   
2. “MARA Announces Third Quarter 2025 Results.” GlobeNewswire, 4 Nov. 2025, https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/11/04/3180182/0/en/MARA-Announces-Third-Quarter-2025-Results.html.
   
   
3. “Riot Platforms Reports Third Quarter 2025 Financial Results and Strategic Highlights.” Riot Platforms, https://www.riotplatforms.com/riot-platforms-reports-third-quarter-2025-financial-results-and-strategic-highlights/.
   
   
4. “CleanSpark Reaches 50 EH/s Milestone: Escape Velocity in Action.” PR Newswire, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cleanspark-reaches-50-ehs-milestone-escape-velocity-in-action-302489173.html.
   
   
5. “IREN Achieves Mid-Year Target of 50 EH/s.” GlobeNewswire, 30 June 2025, https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/06/30/3107920/0/en/IREN-Achieves-Mid-Year-Target-of-50-EH-s.html.
   
   
6. “MARA Acquires Wind Farm.” Marathon Digital Holdings Investor Relations, https://ir.mara.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/1383/mara-acquires-wind-farm.
   
   
7. “Riot Announces June 2025 Production and Operations Updates.” Riot Platforms, https://www.riotplatforms.com/riot-announces-june-2025-production-and-operations-updates/.
   
   
8. Pogkas, Demetrios. “Bitcoin Miner Riot Made a Record $31 Million from Power Credits.” Bloomberg, 6 Sept. 2023, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-06/bitcoin-btc-miner-riot-riot-made-record-31-million-from-power-credits.
   
   
9. “Top 10 Bitcoin Mining ASIC Machines of 2025.” Hashrate Index, https://hashrateindex.com/blog/top-10-bitcoin-mining-asic-machines-of-2025-2/.
   
   
10. “Cambridge Study: Sustainable Energy Rising in Bitcoin Mining.” Cambridge Judge Business School, 2025, https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/2025/cambridge-study-sustainable-energy-rising-in-bitcoin-mining/.
    
    
11. “Iris Energy Ltd Expands Data Centers, AI Services in U.S. and Canada.” Blackridge Research, https://www.blackridgeresearch.com/news-releases/iris-energy-ltd-expands-data-centers-ai-services-in-us-and-canada.
    
    
12. “From Mining Bitcoin to Powering AI: The Great Pivot of 2025–2026.” Quantum Foundry Blog, https://quantumfoundry.ai/blog/f/from-mining-bitcoin-to-powering-ai-the-great-pivot-of-2025-2026?blogcategory=Higher+Education.
    ‍
13. “IREN Stock Soars as Microsoft Inks $9.7 Billion AI Cloud Partnership with Australian Firm.” Meyka, https://meyka.com/blog/iren-stock-soars-as-microsoft-inks-9-7-billion-ai-cloud-partnership-with-australian-firm/.