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Bitcoin Mining Sector Surpasses Bitcoin Performance in 2026
The Bitcoin mining and digital infrastructure sector has shown a divided development in the first four months of 2026. Bitcoin started the year at approximately $88,700 but has since trended downward, settling between $76,000 and $78,000 by the end of April, marking a loss of around 12% since January 1. In contrast, leading mining stocks have significantly outperformed Bitcoin, with most of the top ten publicly traded mining companies reporting year-to-date (YTD) gains of 25% to 73% during the same period.
"This outperformance is not just a mining story; it is a story of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure," experts noted.
Terawulf (WULF) leads the top ten publicly traded mining companies with a YTD gain of 73.58%, having secured HPC revenues exceeding $12.8 billion through long-term contracts with Google-backed companies Fluidstack and Core42. These contracts are associated with sites that have a total available capacity of over 1 GW.
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Hut 8 Corp. (HUT) follows closely with a YTD gain of 67.75%, currently priced at $77.06, the highest stock price among the top ten mining companies by market capitalization. Riot Platforms (RIOT) has seen an increase of 47.04%, while both Applied Digital (APLD) and Core Scientific (CORZ) report gains exceeding 40%. These results indicate that the stock gains of these companies are four to six times higher than Bitcoin's performance, which is moving in the opposite direction.
Long-Term Contracts and AI Infrastructure
The mining sector has undergone a fundamental repositioning at the beginning of 2026. Mining companies possess assets that hyperscalers urgently need, such as access to low-cost electricity, large-scale industrial sites, and expertise in power grids. Companies that quickly adapted their infrastructure for AI and high-performance computing (HPC) data centers have been rewarded, while those that did not have fallen behind.
Terawulf exemplifies the success of this business model, having secured long-term lease agreements with Fluidstack and Core42, resulting in HPC revenues of over $12.8 billion. The company operates in Hawesville, Kentucky, and Morgantown, Maryland, scaling to an available capacity of 1 GW, with HPC now accounting for over half of its annual revenue.
Hut 8 has also taken a similar path, signing a 15-year lease worth $7 billion for its River-Bend campus with Anthropic and Fluidstack as partners, while building an 8.5 GW development pipeline. Core Scientific has secured contract revenues of approximately $10 to $12 billion through partnerships with Coreweave, distributing critical IT loads across six sites, including a $1.2 billion expansion in Denton, Texas.
| Company | YTD Gain (%) | Contract Revenue ($ Billion) |
|---|---|---|
| Terawulf (WULF) | 73.58 | 12.8 |
| Hut 8 Corp. (HUT) | 67.75 | 7 |
| Core Scientific (CORZ) | Over 40 | 10-12 |
Future Outlook and Market Dynamics
As of early 2026, the miners that will succeed are those who secured contracts with hyperscalers first. Merely having power capacity is insufficient; the market values secured order backlogs, delivery timelines, and the quality of partners. Companies like Terawulf, Hut 8, Core Scientific, Applied Digital, IREN, and Cipher Digital have demonstrated this in various forms, while others are working to catch up.
While the future price development of Bitcoin will play a role, it is becoming increasingly secondary for the leading names in this group. The miners who have established themselves in the AI infrastructure space are likely to continue thriving, regardless of Bitcoin's performance.
In summary, the Bitcoin mining sector is witnessing a significant transformation, with companies pivoting towards AI and HPC contracts, leading to substantial revenue growth and stock performance that far exceeds that of Bitcoin itself.
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