Here’s What You Missed in Crypto This Week

As bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies get increasing attention from investors, Wall Street and its traditional banks continue to adjust to the shift. Catch up on this week’s top stories highlighting the intersection of these old guard and new school areas of finance with this recap compiled by The Fly.

CRYPTO FIRMS REPORT EARNINGS: On Thursday, Bitfarms (BITF) reported fourth quarter loss per share of (19c) on revenue of $46M, which compares to analyst consensus of a loss per share of (3c) on revenue of $43.08M. As of December 31, the company held $84M in cash and 804 BTC valued at approximately $34M. “In 2023, we set the foundation to drive significant growth through our transformational fleet upgrade and mining facility expansion,” said CEO Geoff Morphy. “To that end, we secured 35,888 ultra-efficient Bitmain T21 miners to be installed in 1H24 and signed an option to purchase up to an additional 28,000 T21s for delivery in 2H24. Our 2024 plan targets tripling our hashrate to 21 EH/s, at least a 63% increase in operating capacity to 391 MW and improving our fleet efficiency by 34% to 23 w/TH. New farm development in Paraguay will drive much of this growth. In Yguazu, we purchased land for our 100 MW project in January 2024. In Paso Pe, the infrastructure and electrical equipment are nearly ready for us to begin installing Bitmain T21 and new hydro-miners at our 70 MW project, which we expect to begin energizing in March. In addition, we are actively evaluating the best use of capital to secure further low-cost production growth opportunities via miner redeployment, acquisitions, and farm development.” (read more)

Following the report, Cantor Fitzgerald raised the firm’s price target on Bitfarms to $4 from $3 and kept an Overweight rating on the shares. The Q4 results were largely in-line with Cantor’s model, the analyst said. The company has demonstrated substantial progress in establishing a clear line-of-sight for near-term hash rate growth, the firm contended. (read more)

On Wednesday, Stronghold Digital Mining (SDIG) reported a Q4 loss per share of ($1.46) on revenue of $21.7M, which compares to analyst estimates of a loss per share of (98c) on revenue of $22.21M. Stronghold generated 599 bitcoin during Q4, which was down 3% versus Q3 and represented 34% growth compared to 4Q22. The company achieved approximately 3.8 EH/s of actual hash rate on installed hash rate capacity of 4.1 EH/s, following the installation of 5,000 recently purchased bitcoin miners. Current energized slots in existing Stronghold data centers have the capacity to support over 7 EH/s of hash rate. (read more)

MORE CRYPTO EARNINGS: Additionally on Wednesday, TeraWulf (WULF) reported preliminary 2023 revenue of $69M, which compared to analyst consensus of $69.52M. Cash and cash equivalents as of year-end 2023 is expected to be approximately $54M, compared to $1.3M at year-end 2022. The company self-mined 3,407 bitcoin in 2023, comprised of 2,168 bitcoin at the Lake Mariner facility and 1,239 bitcoin at the Nautilus Cryptomine facility. “In 2023, we achieved significant milestones by initiating and delivering rapid organic growth at our existing sites, prioritizing debt repayment, and fortifying liquidity. We look forward to sharing comprehensive details of our fourth quarter and full-year 2023 results, as well as our outlook for 2024, later this month,” said CEO Paul Prager. “The critical significance of infrastructure scalability at our current sites cannot be overstated. It’s the backbone of our strategy, providing stability, control, and substantial long-term cost advantages. This strategic asset empowers us to optimize efficiency, scale operations opportunistically, and ultimately drive profitability. As we continue to invest in and expand our infrastructure, I firmly believe we’re cementing our position as a leader in the industry.” (read more)

On Monday, Bitdeer (BTDR) reported preliminary Q4 revenue of $114.8M, compared to $77.1M for the same period last year. The company also reported total bitcoin mined of approximately 1,299. Linghui Kong, CBO, commented, “In line with our commitment to providing investors with more timely access to Bitdeer’s performance in the fourth quarter of 2023, we are proactively sharing selected preliminary financial and operational results prior to our audited year end 2023 financial reports, which we currently expect to release towards the end of March 2024.” (read more)

Following the report, H.C. Wainwright reiterated a Buy rating on Bitdeer with a $20 price target. The shares remain “massively undervalued,” the analyst said. The firm believes Bitdeer’s push into rig manufacturing will prove to be a significant competitive advantage for the company. Bitdeer will be uniquely positioned to lower its capital expenditures per unit of deployed hash rate, and will have greater control over the supply chain, all while providing it with a new source of revenue from selling its high-performance mining rig to other industrial-scale bitcoin miners, contended H.C. Wainwright. (read more)

Bitdeer also announced the testing of its first bitcoin mining chip, the SEAL01, on Monday. SEAL01, designed for integration into Bitdeer’s SEALMINER A1 mining machines, is created using an advanced 4-nanometer process technology in partnership with a semiconductor foundry. Initial tests indicate a power efficiency of 18.1 J/TH. (read more)

COINBASE UPGRADE: On Thursday, Goldman Sachs upgraded Coinbase (COIN) to Neutral from Sell with a $282 price target. Crypto prices have surged to all time highs and Coinbase daily volumes have reached levels not seen since 2021, driving a 48% increase to the firm’s revenue estimates since early February, the analyst said. The firm’s thesis was predicated on a view that the lack of every day, non-trading use cases for crypto would drive underperformance, but underwriting a sustainable long-term growth rate is “challenging without visibility towards greater adoption,” the analyst added. (read more)

SEC DELAYS DECISION ON BLACKROCK ETHER ETF: The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has further delayed its decision on an application for a spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund by BlackRock (BLK), Reuters reported Monday. The asset manager filed its application for its iShares Ethereum Trust in November, which is expected to be listed on Nasdaq (NDAQ) if approved. (read more)

DEUTSCHE BORSE LAUNCHES SPOT PLATFORM FOR CRYPTO: Deutsche Börse Group (DBOEY) announced Tuesday it has launched the Deutsche Börse Digital Exchange, a crypto spot platform for institutional clients. DBDX offers a fully regulated and secure ecosystem for trading, settlement and custody of crypto assets that leverages the existing connectivity to market participants. The company said, “The offering fills a gap in the market and positions Deutsche Börse at the centre of the growing institutional market for digital assets, while providing clients with a comprehensive suite of innovative and secure financial solutions for digital assets from a single point of access and across the value chain.” As a first step, trading on the DBDX will take place on a Request for Quote basis, followed by multilateral trading. Deutsche Börse operates the trading venue and Crypto Finance GmbH will provide settlement and custody services. (read more)

CRYPTO STOCK PLAYS: Publicly traded companies in the space include Bit Digital (BTBT), Coinbase, Core Scientific (CORZ), Greenidge Generation (GREE), Marathon Digital (MARA), MicroStrategy (MSTR), Riot Platforms (RIOT), Stronghold Digital Mining and TeraWulf.

PRICE ACTION: As of time of writing, bitcoin rose roughly 10% this week to $68,670 in U.S. dollars, according to CoinDesk.