For the Third Month in a Row, Bitcoin Miners with HPC Exposure Have Underperformed Bitcoin, Says JPMorgan.

In April, Bitcoin miners with high-performance computing (HPC) exposure continued to underperform, marking their third consecutive month of lagging behind Bitcoin, according to JPMorgan’s latest report.

The underperformance of these miners, including firms like IREN, RIOT, WULF, and HUT, has become a notable trend, with Bitcoin’s performance outpacing theirs for the third month running. The trend has prompted some miners to diversify their portfolios, expanding into sectors like artificial intelligence (AI) to counter the volatility of crypto mining.

“Miners with HPC exposure (IREN, RIOT, WULF, HUT) have underperformed BTC for the third straight month,” stated analysts Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce in the report.

The report also highlighted a decline in Bitcoin mining profitability, as the network’s hashrate saw a 6% increase in April, putting pressure on miner revenues. The average hashrate rose by about 56 exahashes per second (EH/s) month-on-month, reaching 872 EH/s, marking the second-largest sequential increase in the network’s hashrate in recorded history.

This surge in hashrate led to a 6% drop in daily block reward revenue compared to March, further contributing to the challenging environment for miners.

Despite the headwinds faced by HPC-exposed miners, the market capitalization of the 13 U.S.-listed mining stocks tracked by JPMorgan rose by 12% in April. Greenidge (GREE) stood out with an impressive 46% increase, benefiting from its ability to adapt and navigate the evolving landscape of the Bitcoin mining sector.