Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Bitcoin Powerhouse Marathon Digital Surges 18% on S&P SmallCap 600 Entry

Marathon Digital, the leading Bitcoin (BTC) miner by market cap, experienced an 18% surge in its shares following confirmation that it would be included in the S&P SmallCap 600 index.

The S&P Dow Jones Indices announced on Friday, May 3, that Marathon would take the place of the heating and ventilation manufacturer Aaon in the index starting May 8.

The S&P SmallCap 600 is designed to track 600 U.S. companies with market capitalizations ranging from $1 billion to $6.7 billion, all of which have reported profits in the most recent quarter as well as over the past four quarters.

By Monday, May 6, shares of Marathon Digital (MARA) had soared nearly 18% to a price of $20.67, as per Google Finance data.

Since the Bitcoin halving on April 20, which reduced the block rewards for miners from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC—currently valued at about $198,000—Marathon’s stock price has increased by 25.2%. Despite these gains, Marathon’s shares are down 9.86% year-to-date, having peaked at $31.03 on February 28, 2024.

Given its $5.6 billion market cap, Marathon is likely to be one of the heavier-weighted stocks in the S&P SmallCap 600, which uses a float-adjusted market cap weighting method.

The inclusion of Marathon in the index precedes its first-quarter earnings report scheduled for May 9. Investment research firm Zacks anticipates that Marathon will report a 280% year-over-year increase in revenue to $193.9 million and earnings per share of $0.02, marking a 166.7% jump from the previous year.

On the same day, shares of Marathon’s competitors in the Bitcoin mining industry, such as CleanSpark (CLSK) and TeraWulf (WULF), also saw significant gains, nearly 8% and 10.7% respectively.

The overall increase in Bitcoin mining stocks occurs in a context where miner revenues have been impacted by the halving. Initially, transaction fees were consistently above 3.125 BTC for the first few hundred blocks post-halving, effectively compensating for the reduction in block subsidy. However, transaction fees have since dropped, currently fluctuating between 0.2 BTC and 1 BTC at block 842,350, according to data from mempool.space.

You may also like...