Bitcoin mining in 2025: IREN leads the sector, Bitdeer trails competitors

A shift toward artificial intelligence and high-performance computing has been the defining theme for bitcoin mining stocks in 2025, driving a wide performance gap between diversified operators and miners still largely dependent on bitcoin production.

With the year nearing its end, bitcoin (BTC) is down roughly 7% year-to-date, lagging behind gold, the S&P 500 and major technology stocks, all of which have continued to reach record highs. That divergence has carried over into mining equities, where strategy has become a key determinant of returns.

Miners that moved aggressively into AI and HPC infrastructure posted the strongest gains. IREN (IREN) led the group with an approximately 300% year-to-date advance, supported by large GPU cloud contracts and backing from Microsoft. Cipher Mining (CIFR) followed with gains of around 230%, driven by expanded AI hosting partnerships, including with Fluidstack. Hut 8 (HUT) also outperformed, rising roughly 139% after announcing a $7 billion, 15-year lease to develop a 245-megawatt AI data center at its River Bend site in Louisiana.

Performance was notably weaker among miners with large bitcoin treasuries. Marathon Digital (MARA), the sector’s largest BTC holder with 53,250 bitcoin, is down about 44% on the year. CleanSpark (CLSK), holding 13,011 BTC, and Riot Platforms (RIOT), with 19,324 BTC, posted more modest gains of 16% and 32%, respectively, after waiting until later in the year to pursue meaningful AI diversification.

Core Scientific (CORZ) opted to remain independent after shareholders rejected a $9 billion all-stock acquisition offer from CoreWeave in October. Despite positioning itself to benefit from rising AI demand, the company’s shares are up just 9% year-to-date.

Bitdeer Technologies (BTDR) ranked as the weakest performer in the group, with shares down roughly 50% in 2025. Most of the decline followed its third-quarter earnings report, which showed a larger-than-expected net loss and delays to its ASIC chip development, adding uncertainty around its AI expansion timeline.

Overall, 2025 highlighted a clear trend: bitcoin miners that successfully repurposed infrastructure for AI data center use materially outperformed those that remained pure-play mining operators.