With Bitcoin nearing the $47,000 mark, Marathon Digital shares are on the rise despite a notable drop in mined BTC in January.
On Friday, the shares of Marathon Digital Holdings Inc (MARA) shot up by 23% to hit $21.58, reflecting the positive trend seen in all U.S. stock market companies related to cryptocurrency, following Bitcoin's surge to $46,000, as per data from Google Finance.
For Marathon, this surge is significant because the company reported a decrease in production for January. They managed to mine 1,084 BTC last month, which is a 42% decrease compared to the figures reported in December 2023. In a press release on Feb. 5, Marathon attributed the decline to "weather-related curtailment and equipment failures that led to site outages."
"Our team is addressing the short-term disruptions and working to bring our sites back to full strength. We expect hash rate to improve over the next few weeks."
Marathon Digital pays Hut 8 $13.5m to run two Bitcoin mining sites Marathon's positive response to the increase in Bitcoin's price is mirrored by the performance of other crypto-related companies. For instance, Canaan Technology (CAN) witnessed a 20% increase to $1.54, Bitdeer (BTDR) rose by 16.6% to $8.25, Coinbase (COIN) climbed by 8.6% to $132.5, and MicroStrategy (MSTR) jumped by 15.7% to $587, according to Google Finance.
The excitement surrounding Bitcoin's price surge is further fueled by significant trading volumes observed in spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, which recently surpassed $1 billion, with BlackRock and Fidelity leading the charge, as reported by crypto.news.
Additionally, expectations of potential rate cuts by the Federal Reserve later this year, as suggested by comments from Boston Fed President Susan Collins and Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, seem to be contributing to the market's optimism and the appeal of cryptocurrency investments.