Yahoo Finance·2026-01-05 15:52Core Insights - Bitcoin mining companies that diversified into AI and high-performance computing (HPC) significantly outperformed traditional cryptocurrency miners in 2025 Group 1: Company Performance - IREN achieved a 285% return in 2025, leading the sector after signing a five-year agreement with Microsoft valued at approximately $9.7 billion for cloud computing services [2] - Cipher recorded a 218% increase following a 15-year lease agreement with Amazon Web Services and a separate $3 billion deal with Fluidstack, totaling $5.5 billion for hosting AI workloads [3] - Hut 8 saw a 124% return after announcing a $7 billion partnership with Anthropic and Fluidstack to develop AI data centers, with potential total contract value reaching $17.7 billion [4] Group 2: Underperforming Companies - Marathon Digital (MARA) ended the year down 46%, with Rosenblatt Securities lowering its price target due to high exposure to bitcoin mining and declining profitability [5] - Bitdeer experienced the largest decline among major miners, with a 48% loss attributed to a class action lawsuit regarding its SEAL04 chip development timeline [6] Group 3: Mixed Sector Performance - Other miners showed varied performance: Terawulf returned 103%, Bitfarms gained 58%, CleanSpark ended with a 10% gain, and Core Scientific rose 4%, while Hive fell 9% and Cango dropped 32% [7]