This article covers:

• HIVE Blockchain Technologies

• Stronghold Digital Mining

• Marathon Digital

• Canaan

• Riot Blockchain

• BIT Mining

• BIT Digital

• Bitfarms

• Greenidge Generation

• Hut 8 Mining

It's no secret that crypto mining stocks are typically linked to cryptocurrency prices. So if you've been following all the wild gyrations of the crypto market, you'll know these stocks can move sharply in either direction.

However, despite price volatility, the crypto sector is becoming more 'mainstream'. In 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) gave approval to the first bitcoin futures ETF to list on the US stock market. In 2022, the first crypto ETFs launched in Australia we even spoke to them about it. Below you can listen to our chat with ETF Securities about the benefits of investing in a crypto ETF.

Crypto miners generate income directly from mining' digital currencies. This involves mining rigs solving computational problems to verify transactions. Industry Research suggests the global cryptocurrency mining market could grow at a CAGR of 16.8% to reach nearly US$2.6 billion by 2026. 

The crypto mining sector has seen no shortage of companies emerge. A number of these companies are even tackling the environmental issues associated with energy usage. On that note, let take a quick look at 10 crypto mining stocks to watch.

HIVE Blockchain Technologies (NASDAQ: HIVE)

Based out of Vancouver, Canada, HIVE was the first publicly-traded crypto mining stock. It listed on the Toronto Venture Exchange in 2017, but today it shares a dual-listing on the Nasdaq. The company also has data centres in Iceland and Sweden that it draws upon to power its crypto mining operations, which include bitcoin and ethereum. 

HIVE built its facilities in these jurisdictions to take advantage of cooler temperatures, and to access low-cost green and renewable energy. It uses green energy exclusively to mine crypto. For the quarter ending December, 2021, HIVE recorded record revenue of US$68.2 million, net income of US$64.2 million, while also expanding its mining capacity. In May, 2022, the business completed a 5-to-1 share consolidation.

Stronghold Digital Mining (NASDAQ: SDIG)

Stronghold Digital Mining made its IPO debut in October, 2022. Amid record bitcoin prices at the time, the stock initially soared more than 50%. With crypto prices falling sharply since then, SDIG is one of many crypto mining stocks well off its highs.

The company pitches itself as one of the first vertically-integrated and environmentally-conscious crypto mining stocks. Stronghold converts coal refuse into power for its mining operations. Coal refuse is a form of waste left over from coal mining. It also earns tax credits and renewable energy credits by doing so. The company currently operates more than 30,000 miners, powered by its wholly-owned plant in Pennsylvania. 

Since securing US$100 million in IPO funds, Stronghold has been acquiring other environmentally-focused power-generating assets. It has lifted its total hashrate from 185 petahash per second (PH/s) to roughly 3,000 PH/s. The company is targeting 4,100 PH/s of installed hash rate capacity by the end of 2022.

Marathon Digital (NASDAQ: MARA)

Marathon Digital was one of the biggest beneficiaries when crypto prices soared in 2020. This Las Vegas-based company is striving to build the largest mining operation in North America at one of the lowest energy costs thanks to its access to cheap' energy. 

Initially, the company co-located its Bitcoin Mining Data Center' adjacent to the Hardin Generating Station. This is a 115.7MW power facility in Montana. However, in April, 2022, the company announced plans to relocate its mining rigs away from this coal-powered site to a new site in Texas. It is looking to become 100% carbon neutral by the end of 2022. 

Mathon Digital is famous for developing a mining pool called MaraPool. This is a joint group of crypto miners who combine their computational resources over a network to increase their prospects of finding a block and mining crypto. MaraPool is fully audited by a third party. Unlike other mining pools, MaraPool has been designed to offer greater transparency to members.

Canaan (NASDAQ: CAN)

Unlike some of the other names on this list, Canaan offers exposure to the supercomputing hardware that is used for crypto mining. That means the Chinese company is leveraged to the hardware demands of an ever-growing number of cryptocurrency miners investing in equipment to drive their operations. Formed in 2013, Beijing-based Canaan specialises in blockchain servers and application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) microprocessor solutions. The company recently announced its strongest quarterly sales ever, with total net revenue up 237% in the quarter ending March, 2022, versus a year prior. Total computing power sold was 4.3 million Thash/s, up 119.1% from 2.0 million Thash/s a year prior. 

At the Bitcoin Conference in Miami in April, 2022, Canaan unveiled a new piece of hardware, the Avalon 1266. It features 100 TH/s of computing power at 35 joules per terahash of power efficiency.

Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ: RIOT)

Based out of Colorado, USA, but with operations in New York, Riot Blockchain is among the largest US-based publicly-traded bitcoin miners in North America. The company has been investing in its bitcoin mining operations as it builds scale. Its NY facility is hosted by Coinmint at the largest digital currency data centre in the world, where energy is drawn from 88% zero-emission sources.

In 2021, Riot acquired Whinstone US, the Texas-based owner-operator of North America single-largest bitcoin mining and hosting facility. Following this acquisition, Riot announced the development of 200MW of immersion-cooling technology at the Whinstone facility to drive higher productivity rates and hash rates. As of April, 2022, Riot boasts a deployed fleet of approximately 46,375 miners, with a hash rate capacity of 4.7 EH/s.

By January 2023, Riot expects to reach a total self-mining hash rate capacity of approximately 12.8 EH/s, which is based on full deployment of approximately 120,150 mining rigs.

BIT Mining (NYSE: BTCM)

Headquartered in Hong Kong, BIT Mining is a multifaceted crypto mining enterprise. It undertakes mining operations and also exposure to mining machine manufacturing, data centre operations, and mining pools. In terms of the latter, it owns the entire mining pool and associated assets operated via BTC.com, one of the most popular industry names.

In 2021, the stock was at the centre of a Reddit-driven trading frenzy due to its status as a short-squeeze target. Following a crackdown on crypto miners in China, BTCM and its mining pool subsidiary BTC.com exitited the mainland China market in favour of the US. That led to BIT Mining striking a US$12.1 million agreement with Viking Data Centers to develop an 85MW crypto mining facility in Ohio, USA. In early 2022, the sub-station was completed with power capacity of 50MW.

In the quarter ending March, 2022, BIT Mining's online total hash rate capacity for its Ethereum mining machines was approximately 4,452.7GH/s. In the same period it produced 5,420 Ethereum from its mining operations, generating revenue of approximately US$16 million.

BIT Digital (NASDAQ: BTBT)

Another stock that has at times been mentioned by the Reddit forums as a potential short-squeeze play is BIT Digital. The company is a sustainability-focused generator of digital assets with large-scale.

The NY-based cryptocurrency miner has one of the largest operating fleets of any US-listed miner, with the majority of its miners running on carbon-free power. For the full-year 2021, BIT Digital's global mining operations reached a total of 27,744 bitcoin miners and 731 Ethereum miners, with an estimated maximum total hash rate of 1.6 EH/s and 0.3 TH/s, respectively.

In the quarter ending December, 2021, BIT Digital mined around 240 Bitcoin. Like BIT Mining, it has also had to contend with a pivot in relocating its operations away from the Chinese market. Roughly two-thirds of the company's electricity consumption is generated from carbon-free energy sources.

Bitfarms (NASDAQ: BITF)

Bitfarms is a Toronto-based blockchain infrastructure company with one of the largest crypto mining networks in North America. Across multiple facilities in Canada, the US, and even Paraguay, it has 137MW of built-out infrastructure. The company ensures that 100% of its bitcoin mining activities are powered by renewable hydroelectric power. Bitfarms' corporate hash rate is 3.4 EH/s.

As a point of differentiation, Bitfarms is a vertically-integrated company thanks to its wholly-owned electrical contractor, Volta Electrique, and its 100% owned network of electrical contractors. In terms of its future pipeline, Bitfarms is forecasting nearly 300MW of additional built-out infrastructure capacity, including its first site in Argentina.

Greenidge Generation (NASDAQ: GREE)

Following its merger with Support.com, Greenidge Generation transformed into a crypto mining company operating out of New York. The company operates power-generation facilities, including its own carbon-neutral power plant, which is at the centre of its bitcoin mining activities. It is 100% carbon-neutral and has invested heavily in reliable, fully-accredited carbon offset credits to ensure it maintains net-zero carbon emissions across the breadth of its operations.

It produces about 44MW of energy, but with the plant boasting a capacity of 106MW, it also sends excess electricity into the state power grid. The company has announced plans to expand in other US states, signing capacity in the likes of Texas, and last year purchasing 10,000 miners for a facility in South Carolina. It is looking to achieve at least 500 MW of mining capacity by 2025.

More recently, the company was able to mine 561 bitcoin in the quarter ending March, 2022. Total Revenue increased to US$37.7 million, up 240% year-over-year.

Hut 8 Mining (NASDAQ: HUT)

Another Canadian crypto miner that has made a name for itself is Hut 8 Mining. It completed a Nasdaq listing in June, 2021. It focuses on bitcoin and ethereum. In April, 2022, it mined 309 bitcoin, representing average production of 10.3 BTC per day.

During the first quarter of 2022, Hut 8 Mining generated CAD$53.3 million in revenue, up 67% year-on-year. Whereas some bitcoin miners sell the BTC they mine, Hut 8 Mining takes a different approach. It is one of the largest holders of self-mined bitcoin in North America with 6,460 bitcoin and lends out its BTC to generate interest on the assets. 

The company is in the midst of expanding its operations. In April, 2022, it announced plans to buy out all hosted rigs at its Medicine Hat mining facility in Alberta. As a result of this move, Hut 8's total hashrate is expected to increase by 81 PH/s to 2.6

Hut 8 Mining currently utilises three digital asset data mining facilities and five multi-tier data centres for high-performance computing with a total contracted power capacity of 209MW. Like many other crypto mining stocks, Hut 8 Mining is eyeing sustainable operations, with its rigs in Alberta, Canada, powered by electricity generated by a mix of solar, wind, and natural gas. This has helped the company achieve some of the lowest mining rig costs among publicly-traded BTC mining companies.