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.

MICROSTRATEGY BUYS MORE BITCOIN: MicroStrategy (MSTR) disclosed Thursday that, during the period between November 1 and November 29, it acquired approximately 16,130 bitcoins for approximately $593.3M in cash, at an average price of approximately $36,785 per bitcoin, inclusive of fees and expenses. As of November 29, MicroStrategy held an aggregate of approximately 174,530 bitcoins, which were acquired at an aggregate purchase price of approximately $5.28B and an average purchase price of approximately $30,252 per bitcoin, inclusive of fees and expenses. (read more)

CRYPTO EARNINGS: On Thursday, CleanSpark (CLSK) reported a fiscal year 2023 loss per share of ($1.29) on revenue of $168.4M, which compared analyst estimates of loss per share of (77c) on revenue of $169.8M. “This past fiscal year has been one of substantial growth and success for CleanSpark. We’ve not only met but exceeded many of our strategic aims and I’m proud to share these accomplishments with you,” said CEO Zach Bradford. “We posted revenue of over $168M, a significant increase over the last fiscal year. We expect to continue this trajectory and are optimistic about revenue growth next year, even as we prepare for the halving. Operationally, our hashrate growth year-over-year has been exceptional, highlighting our commitment to not just growing but also scaling efficiently. We achieved a remarkable milestone this year by surpassing a total hashrate of 10 exahashes per second, and that hashrate is among the most efficient in the industry.” (read more)

On Tuesday, Canaan Inc. (CAN) reported a third quarter loss per American depositary share of (47c) on revenue of $33.3M, which compared to earnings per ADS of 4c on revenue of $145.5M last year. As of September 30, the company held cryptocurrency assets that primarily comprised 1,238.5 bitcoins with a total carrying value of $30.5M. Nangeng Zhang, CEO, commented, “During the third quarter of 2023, the stagnant bitcoin price and further interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve presented us with significant challenges. Despite these headwinds, we have stayed committed to our strategic plan. In mid-September, we launched and opened pre-sales for our new A14 product series, featuring computing power of 150Thash/s with superior energy efficiency of 21J/Thash/s.” (read more)

Following the report, H.C. Wainwright lowered the firm’s price target on Canaan to $3 from $4 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The analyst cited “depressed market conditions and a push to the right on any sales resurgence” for the target drop. Despite the downturn, Canaan’s self-mining effort remains a strategic focus, ensuring the company “maintains a finger on the operating pulse” of bitcoin mining economics while creating machine demand and supplementing revenue, the analyst said. (read more)

COINBASE SUBPOENAED OVER BYBIT: Coinbase (COIN) has let some customers know that it received a subpoena from a U.S. regulator regarding crypto exchange Bybit, The Block’s Sarah Wynn and Ryan Weeks reported Tuesday. A person familiar with the matter confirmed the authenticity of the emails, which said “No action is required from you, but Coinbase may respond to the Subpoena unless served before November 30, 2023 with a motion to quash or other objection to the subpoena that has been filed with the Court – including by sending information concerning your Coinbase account to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.” (read more)

Additionally on Wednesday, Mizuho raised the firm’s price target on Coinbase to $35 from $31 and kept an Underperform rating on the shares. The analyst said Coinbase shares are up more than 20% since Binance reached a settlement with the Department of Justice on November 21. The firm believes part of the rally is in anticipation of potential share gains for Coinbase in the wake of outflows from Binance, the industry’s largest exchange. However, the excitement of Coinbase benefiting from Binance’s trouble is overdone, the analyst said. Mizuho’s data shows that Coinbase’s market share of industry volumes actually declined 30 basis points post the Binance settlement. On a more positive note, the firm said, the company’s’ trading volumes are up meaningfully in November amid excitement around a bitcoin exchange traded fund approval. (read more)

BITFARMS TO PURCHASE 35,888 MINERS: Bitfarms (BITF) announced Monday it has placed a firm purchase order for 35,888 Bitmain T21 miners at a price of $2,660 per unit with deliveries scheduled from March 2024 to May 2024. With its recently announced financing, Bitfarms will have sufficient liquidity to complete the purchase obligations for this order. Concurrently, Bitfarms has secured a purchase option for an additional 28,000 Bitmain T21 miners. “We’ve built our world class, scalable infrastructure in anticipation of the right time to implement a transformative equipment upgrade. Now, with the most attractive equipment pricing since 2020, we’ve launched our comprehensive strategy with a well-defined pathway to 17 EH/s in H2 2024 and the hardware secured for 21 EH/s in 2024,” said CEO Geoff Morphy. “In parallel with new farm development, the 35,888 Bitmain T21 miner deployment combined with our option to purchase an additional 28,000 Bitmain T21 miners are expected to increase our operating capacity 63% to 391 MW and improve fleet efficiency 34% to 23 w/TH. (read more)

On Wednesday, H.C. Wainwright raised the firm’s price target on Bitfarms to $4 from $3 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The company announced a $95M mining rig spend that pushes its fleet size to 21Eh/s should it exercise a $75M option and all its current machines remain profit-relevant post halving next year, the analyst said. The firm continues to see Bitfarms’ evolution, hash growth, and execution as “flying under investor radar “as compared with other U.S.-centric marquis bitcoin mining names. (read more)

Meanwhile, Compass Point raised the firm’s price target on Bitfarms to $5.50 from $3.75 and kept a Buy rating on the shares after the company held an investor update call detailing its updated expansion plans, including the purchase of about 36,000 of the recently released, high efficiency Bitmain T21 miners on what the firm calls “favorable terms.” While the firm liked Bitfarms before, it argued that the company’s recent moves should put it at the low-end of the cost curve just in time for the 2024 halving, “making it a best-in-class BTC miner.” (read more)

ANALYST RAISES PRICE TARGETS: On Friday, JPMorgan raised the firm’s price target on Marathon Digital (MARA) to $8 from $7 and kept an Underweight rating on the shares. The analyst updated price targets in bitcoin mining to reflect changes in the price of bitcoin, the network hashrate and other company specific variables. Bitcoin and the network hashrate have increased 9% and 6%, respectively, since JPMorgan last updated price targets on November 1, the analyst said. (read more)

JPMorgan also raised the firm’s price target on CleanSpark to $9 from $8.50 (read more) and on Iris Energy (IREN) to $9 from $7.50 (read more). The firm kept an Overweight rating on both the names. Additionally, raised the firm’s price target on Riot Platforms (RIOT) to $8 from $7.50 and kept an Underweight rating on the shares. (read more)

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

PRICE ACTION: As of time of writing, bitcoin rose roughly 2% this week to $38,363 in U.S. dollars, according to CoinDesk.