Bitcoin mining stocks MARA, CleanSpark rise as network difficulty eases

Core Insights - Multiple Bitcoin mining stocks are experiencing gains as network difficulty decreases and Bitcoin prices improve, leading to better mining revenues [1] - Year-to-date performance shows significant gains for several companies, with IREN leading at 357% [3] Company Performance - MARA gained 11.97% this week, followed by CleanSpark at 11.75%, Core Scientific at 5.56%, and Hut 8 at 1.04% [2] - American Bitcoin saw a significant drop of 42.38% due to an investor unlock, while IREN fell by 4.13% after a convertible note announcement [2] - Year-to-date, IREN has a 357% gain, Terawulf at 154%, and Hut 8 at 104%, while MARA is down 28% for the year [3] Mining Economics - Hashprice has dropped below $40 per petahash per day, indicating that operator revenues are at a new low despite the decrease in mining difficulty [3] - The average machine operates at 32 joules per terahash, with a break-even hashcost of approximately $38.40 per petahash per day at a power cost of $0.05 per kilowatt-hour [4] - Many miners are close to or below profitability, potentially needing to rely on cash reserves or reduce operations to manage costs [4] Monthly Mining Reports - Riot and CleanSpark reported 428 and 587 Bitcoin mined in November, respectively, while Cango mined 546 Bitcoin, slightly lower than the previous month [5] - Bitdeer, a Bitcoin miner and ASIC manufacturer, is facing a lawsuit regarding alleged miscommunications about its new unit's performance and production timelines [5]