Piper Sandler initiated research coverage on Bitcoin miners and crypto
infrastructure firms on Monday, including MARA Holdings
(NASDAQ:MARA), Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:RIOT), Hut 8 Corp
(NASDAQ:HUT), and Galaxy Digital (TSX:GLXY). Each firm was assigned an
Overweight rating.
US-listed shares of Riot Platforms and MARA rose around 2.6% and 1.9% in
premarket trading, respectively, while Hut stock climbed 3.2%.
The investment bank notes that mainstream crypto sentiment “is improving
— a trend we expect to continue with greater regulatory clarity and a more
crypto-friendly SEC under the incoming Trump administration.”
“Should the US establish a strategic bitcoin reserve (which Trump plans to
implement) we expect the price of Bitcoin to rise, leading to expanded
profitability and larger bitcoin treasuries for bitcoin miners,” analysts
Patrick Moley and Will Copps said in a note.
BTC miners, while fundamentally tied to the future of the cryptocurrency,
are also well-positioned to benefit from their extensive energy
infrastructure. Analysts highlight growing demand from AI hyperscalers,
which could offer a significant new growth opportunity beyond the crypto
market.
Piper Sandler started MARA Holdings with a price target of $34. Analysts
expect MARA’s mining capacity to reach approximately 50 EH/s by the end
of the fourth quarter in 2024, with a Bitcoin treasury exceeding 40,000 BTC,
valued at roughly $4 billion.
“We believe MARA has a “fastest to scale” advantage in bitcoin mining and
should benefit from compounding returns on a larger initial bitcoin treasury
and mining fleet relative to peers,” analysts said.
Bitcoin surges to an all-time high of $108,000
