JPMorgan: Mining company stocks significantly outperformed BTC in January, short-term outlook supported but valuation divergence widened

Odaily Planet Daily reports that JPMorgan stated in a report that Bitcoin miners performed strongly in early 2026, thanks to decreased network competition and a new enthusiasm for high-performance computing (HPC). The bank noted that the total market value of the 14 Bitcoin mining companies and data center operators it tracks in the US reached $60 billion at the end of last month, a 23% increase month-over-month, far surpassing the 1% gain of the S&P 500 index. This rise was partly driven by the news of Riot Platforms signing an HPC agreement with AMD, highlighting miners’ efforts to diversify beyond Bitcoin. Facing record-low profits after the 2024 halving, Bitcoin miners are repositioning as digital infrastructure providers, transforming power-intensive mining sites into data centers for AI to seek more stable, long-term revenue.

The report pointed out that winter storms across the US in January caused an average network hash rate to decrease by 6% month-over-month to 981 EH/s, with mining difficulty down 5% compared to December. The decline in competition helped offset the weakness in Bitcoin prices. Analysts estimate that in January, miners earned about $42,350 per EH/s in daily block rewards, slightly up from December, with gross profit rising 24% to approximately $21,200 per EH/s. Among the 14 mining companies tracked by JPMorgan, 12 performed better than Bitcoin’s 4% decline in January, with IREN up 42% and Cango down 18%. The total valuation of this group remains about 15% below the October 2025 peak. (CoinDesk)