In the lead-up to the anticipated approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in early January, the trading volumes of Bitcoin mining company Marathon Digital have surged, propelling it to the top of the charts among U.S. mid and large-cap stocks.
Over the past 24 hours, the publicly traded firm has witnessed an astonishing trading volume of over 105 million shares, surpassing giants like Tesla, Apple, and Amazon, as reported by Yahoo Finance market data.
Additionally, fellow Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms has emerged as the sixth most-traded stock on the charts, with more than 40 million shares exchanged in the last day.
This increase in trading activity on Bitcoin mining stocks coincides with a renewed push by mining companies to expand their operations, with an eye on the expected approval of the spot Bitcoin ETF in January and the Bitcoin halving scheduled for April.
Marathon Digital made headlines on December 19th when it unveiled plans to acquire two mining centers for a staggering $179 million.
This strategic move will augment its current mining capacity by 390 megawatts, supplementing its existing output of 584 megawatts.
Meanwhile, Riot Platforms had made an equally significant investment two weeks prior, acquiring an additional $291 million worth of Bitcoin mining rigs, resulting in its largest-ever increase in hash rate.
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Despite Bitcoin’s impressive growth of more than 163% since the beginning of the year, the shares of Bitcoin mining companies have significantly outperformed the leading cryptocurrency.
Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms have witnessed astounding year-to-date gains of 767% and 452%, respectively, according to data from TradingView.
Notably, the largest publicly traded cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, has also experienced substantial gains, soaring by over 450% since the year began.
The year started with crypto-related stocks being popular targets for short trading, likely influenced by the memories of the FTX collapse and other high-profile meltdowns in 2022.
However, those who bet against the crypto sector may have underestimated its resilience, as more than $6 billion worth of crypto-related shorts have been liquidated so far this year.
The surging interest in Bitcoin mining stocks and the broader crypto market indicates a shifting sentiment, with investors increasingly bullish on the future of digital assets and the potential approval of a Bitcoin ETF in the near future.
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