Group 1 - The article focuses on MARA Holdings (MARA) and compares it with other crypto miners like IREN (IREN) and TeraWulf (WULF) as well as AI Cloud providers [1] - The author has been investing since 2016 and established Libra Capital in 2022, indicating a long-term commitment to investment research [1] - The article serves as a deep research piece before making investment decisions, categorizing stocks into "hold," "sell," or "long" positions [1] Group 2 - The author has a beneficial long position in MARA and IREN, indicating confidence in these stocks [2] - The article expresses the author's personal opinions and is not influenced by compensation from any company mentioned [2] - There is no business relationship with any of the companies discussed, ensuring an unbiased perspective [2]

Core Insights - Hive Digital Technologies reported significant year-over-year growth in Bitcoin production for January 2026, producing a total of 297 Bitcoin, which is a 191% increase compared to the same period last year [1] - The company's average daily production was approximately 9.6 Bitcoin per day, with an average hashrate of 22.2 exahash per second (EH/s), peaking at 23.7 EH/s, marking a 290% year-over-year increase [1] - The performance improvements are attributed to ongoing infrastructure investments, disciplined fleet upgrades, and a geographically diversified operating model [1] Production and Efficiency - The addition of 2,667 new Bitmain S21 XP ASIC miners is expected to enhance operational efficiency and overall performance [1] - These new miners are being installed at the Yguazú facility in Paraguay, replacing older Buzzminer ASICs [1] - Once fully installed, the new miners are projected to increase the company's installed global hashrate to approximately 25.5 EH/s and improve global average fleet efficiency to about 17 joules per terahash (J/TH) [1] Strategic Positioning - The upgrades position Hive to continue delivering competitive production results while focusing on efficient, scalable, and sustainable digital asset infrastructure [1]

Core Insights - In 2026, crypto miners are experiencing significant volatility and panic selling, potentially more than Bitcoin itself [1] - Companies have invested billions in acquiring mining capacity due to rising Bitcoin prices, indicating a competitive landscape in the data center space [1] Industry Overview - The crypto mining industry is facing challenges as it competes in a crowded data center market, which may impact profitability and operational stability [1] - The experience of analysts covering technology companies and startups suggests a deep understanding of the themes influencing the crypto mining sector [1]

Core Insights - Bitcoin experienced a significant price drop of over $10,000, leading to a recalibration among institutions involved in cryptocurrency [1] - MARA Holdings, a major Bitcoin miner, executed an internal treasury adjustment by moving 1,318 BTC, which is part of a broader trend among crypto mining firms facing tighter margins due to falling prices and the upcoming Halving event in April 2024 [2][3] Company Actions - MARA Holdings moved the 1,318 BTC in chunks to three major custodians: BitGo, Galaxy Digital, and Two Prime, rather than to an exchange, indicating a focus on security and liquidity rather than immediate selling [3][6] - The company is currently one of the largest Bitcoin miners globally, contributing over 43 EH/s of hash rate and maintaining a high consistency rate of over 99% [5] Market Implications - Large transfers of Bitcoin by miners can influence short-term price movements, although the long-term outlook for Bitcoin remains stable [4] - The market interpreted MARA's transfer as a precautionary measure rather than a signal for selling, which is often the case when coins are moved to exchanges [6] - Miners' treasury adjustments are significant for Bitcoin investors, as they control the fresh supply of Bitcoin, and simultaneous selling by multiple miners can lead to price declines [7]

Core Insights - The recent selloff in bitcoin has significantly impacted prominent bitcoin miners, with IREN and CleanSpark experiencing substantial declines in their stock prices [2] Company Performance - IREN reported a total revenue of $184.7 million, a decrease from the previous quarter's $384.6 million profit, resulting in a net loss of $155.4 million, which was below the estimated revenue of $224 million [3] - CleanSpark's quarterly revenues reached $181.2 million, reflecting an 11.6% increase year-over-year, but fell short of consensus estimates by approximately $13 million. The company reported a net loss of $378.7 million compared to a net income of $246.8 million in the same period last year [6] Strategic Transition - IREN is transitioning from Bitcoin mining to AI Cloud, with an increasing allocation of capacity to higher-value AI workloads, leading to accelerated AI Cloud revenues [4] - CleanSpark is diversifying its business model, focusing on building an infrastructure platform with multiple revenue streams, including Bitcoin mining for cash flow and AI infrastructure for long-term asset monetization [8] Financial Challenges - IREN faced unrealized losses exceeding $219 million related to prepaid forwards and capped calls, along with a one-time debt conversion expense and mining hardware impairments of $31.8 million due to the ASIC-to-GPU transition [4]

Core Viewpoint - Sovcombank has become the first Russian financial institution to offer bitcoin-backed loans to individuals and corporations legally owning digital assets [1] Group 1: Company Initiatives - Sovcombank is providing bitcoin-secured lending, enabling clients to finance business development without selling their digital assets [3] - The bank's compliance director highlighted that only legally recognized owners of digital assets can access these lending products [3] Group 2: Industry Context - The move follows a pilot program by Sberbank, which issued the first crypto-secured product to Intelion Data, a mining firm [2] - Despite regulatory uncertainties, there is growing interest among Russian banks in crypto-backed lending as mining firms seek liquidity while retaining their assets [2] - The legal framework for crypto mining in Russia was established on November 1, 2024, allowing registered entities to engage in mining activities [4] - A six-year ban on crypto mining was imposed in 2025 in ten regions due to high power consumption, but the market was reopened in December 2025 with new regulations [5] - The perception of mining has shifted from a niche activity to an investment class with predictable returns and manageable risks, according to Sovcombank [6]

Company Overview - Igor Runets, founder of BitRiver, Russia's largest crypto mining firm, is under house arrest on tax evasion charges, facing three allegations of concealing assets to evade taxes [1] - BitRiver was founded in 2017 and has expanded to 15 data centers with over 175,000 servers and a capacity of 533 megawatts [2] - The company was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine [2] Legal and Financial Challenges - BitRiver is facing potential bankruptcy after an En+ Group subsidiary filed an insolvency claim for over $9.2 million, alleging failure to deliver prepaid mining equipment [4] - Legal challenges arise amid rising energy debts, equipment disputes, and internal turmoil within BitRiver [5] - Several data centers have reportedly shut down due to regional mining bans, and a significant portion of senior management has left the company over the past year [6] Industry Context - The crypto mining industry is experiencing widespread financial troubles following a recent halving event that reduced rewards, squeezing profit margins [7] - Rising power costs and falling bitcoin prices have led many miners to pivot towards offering data centers for AI and cloud computing firms, diversifying their business models away from traditional mining [7] - A potential collapse of BitRiver could accelerate consolidation in Russia's mining sector and reshape expectations around electricity demand from the industry [6]

BitRiver, Russia’s largest crypto mining firm, is facing potential bankruptcy after a regional arbitration court opened insolvency supervision proceedings against its controlling shareholder. Igor Runets, BitRiver’s founder and chief executive, was reportedly placed under house arrest on tax evasion charges after a Moscow district court issued a ruling last week. Proceedings that would evaluate BitRiver were initiated by the Arbitration Court of Sverdlovsk Oblast, which on January 27 opened bankruptcy o ...

Igor Runets, the founder of Russia’s biggest crypto mining firm BitRiver, has been put under house arrest on tax evasion charges https://t.co/OX2wEJPozk ...

Core Insights - Bitcoin mining has become less lucrative due to multiple halving events that have significantly reduced rewards despite an increase in Bitcoin prices [3][4] - Companies in the crypto industry are pivoting from Bitcoin mining to artificial intelligence (AI) due to the decline in profitability [5] Industry Overview - Bitcoin mining involves using specialized hardware to solve cryptographic functions, allowing miners to verify and add BTC transactions to the blockchain in exchange for rewards [2] - The profitability of Bitcoin mining attracted many tech enthusiasts during the pandemic, but the situation has changed drastically [3] Company Actions - Bitfarms Ltd. plans to wind down its Bitcoin mining business by 2027 and transition to AI operations [5] - Tether Holdings has also announced the shutdown of its Bitcoin mining operations in Uruguay [5] - Bit Digital, which began mining Bitcoin in 2020, is now planning to shut down its Bitcoin mining operations and has shifted focus to AI [7]