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.

BITFARMS REACHES 7 EH/S WITH FARM UPGRADE: Bitfarms (BITF) announced Friday the completion of its first two farm upgrades with over 5,000 Bitmain T21 miners installed and operating in Quebec. At Garlock, the company installed 3,168 T21s and at Farnham, the company installed 1,710 T21s and 100 M53S+ hydro miners. In Q2, more than 30,000 additional T21s are scheduled to be delivered to the company’s existing locations including its newest development in Paso Pe, Paraguay. Bitfarms’ chief mining officer, Ben Gagnon, stated, “Leveraging our existing facilities and the strength of our operations team, Bitfarms has already energized over 5,000 T21s with installations at our third location underway. As we deploy an additional 30,000 miners this quarter, we expect to drive rapid increases in both our hashrate and energy efficiency, while executing towards our 12 EH/s and 21 EH/s targets in 2024.” (read more)

STRONGHOLD TURNS OFF SCRUBGRASS PLANT: On Tuesday, Stronghold Digital Mining (SDIG) reported the company mined 179 bitcoin in March and generated approximately $0.1M in energy revenue. This equates to approximately 180 of bitcoin-equivalent production in March, up approximately 4% from 173 bitcoin-equivalent production in February. Stronghold’s average hash rate improved to 3.6 EH/s in March, up 4.7% compared to its average hash rate of 3.4 EH/s in February, and up 62.6% from the average hash rate of 2.2 EH/s in March 2023. In March 2024, due to continuing low power prices and the company’s expectation that they will persist through the coming shoulder months, the company elected to turn off its Scrubgrass Plant and to instead import electricity for its mining operations pursuant to its previously announced Electricity Sales and Purchase Agreement with Champion Energy Services. The Scrubgrass Plant is expected to remain off until it becomes economically compelling to run it relative to purchasing electricity. (read more)

COINBASE PRICE TARGETS RAISED: On Monday, Barclays raised the firm’s price target on Coinbase (COIN) to $179 from $146 and kept an Underweight rating on the shares. The analyst said exchanged traded fund flows, helped by asset price appreciation, have driven meaningful spot trading volumes, which jumped in March. However, this seems to have reversed a touch in early April, the analyst noted. The firm said that while there are a few potential industry-wide catalysts in the near-term, it is not yet clear if these can be as meaningful as the bitcoin ETFs. (read more)

On Tuesday, JMP Securities raised the firm’s price target on Coinbase to $320 from $300 and kept an Outperform rating on the shares. Momentum is still positive for the firm’s Capital Markets & FinTech coverage, but JMP Securities sees less room for error after its revaluation higher, the analyst said. The firm remains bullish on the intermediate-term opportunity at Coinbase. (read more)

Meanwhile on Wednesday, BofA raised the firm’s price target on Coinbase to $110 from $92 and kept an Underperform rating on the shares. The firm noted that CoinGecko data shows Coinbase volumes surged 100% quarter-over-quarter and 107% year-over-year in Q1 as bitcoin ETF approvals spurred additional trading activity and bitcoin hit a new all time high, leading the firm to expect Coinbase to “materially beat” Q1 consensus estimates. However, the firm maintains an Underperform rating citing crypto market unpredictability, a lack of revenue diversification, valuation and potential risks related to SEC litigation. (read more)

On Friday, Mizuho raised the firm’s price target on Coinbase to $145 from $84 and kept an Underperform rating on the shares. The analyst said strong spot volumes post the bitcoin exchange traded fund launch, especially in alternative coins, could drive nearly 40% upside to Q1 consensus revenue, “as high margin retail investors are drawn into a rising crypto price environment.” The firm raised estimates amid a favorable near-term setup, but its long-term fundamental concerns remain. These include potential downward pressure on Coinbase’s retail fee rates and a heavy reliance on lower quality and cyclical revenue streams like alt coins, staking, and interest income, contended Mizuho. (read more)

Additionally on Friday, Piper Sandler raised the firm’s price target on Coinbase to $245 from $225 and kept a Neutral rating on the shares. The analyst said the “risk on environment” generally benefited the exchanges, trading companies and online brokers in Q1. The firm expects the U.S. exchanges to report strong Q1 results, driven by an improved trading environment for both cash equities and derivative products. Continued rate uncertainty produced another strong quarter for fixed income volumes and should drive strong results for the electronic fixed income trading platforms and inter-dealer brokers, the analyst said. Meanwhile, the January approval and launch of 11 spot bitcoin exchanged traded funds drove crypto prices higher in Q1 and seemed to play a role in bringing retail back into the market. This should drive strong Q1 results for crypto exchanges and brokers, said Piper. (read more)

MICROSTRATEGY PRICE TARGET RAISE: On Monday, Benchmark raised the firm’s price target on MicroStrategy (MSTR) to $1,875 from $990 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The firm’s sum-of-the-parts analysis combines its estimate of the year-end 2025 value of the company’s bitcoin holdings and its estimate of the year-end 2025 value of its enterprise software business, noted the analyst, who views MicroStrategy as “particularly well positioned to benefit” from the fourth bitcoin halving, set to occur on or about April 20. (read more)

JPMORGAN RAISES PRICE TARGETS: On Wednesday, JPMorgan raised the firm’s price target on Marathon Digital (MARA) to $16.50 from $16 and keeps an Underweight rating on the shares. The bitcoin halving will occur in April and could have sweeping implications for the bitcoin mining industry, the analyst said. The firm believes the halving will cut industry revenues in half, triggering a wave of consolidation and business closures, while rationalizing the network hashrate and industry capex, which is ultimately good for the remaining operators. (read more)

JPMorgan also raised the firm’s price target on CleanSpark (CLSK) to $15 from $14 and kept a Neutral rating on the shares (read more) and on Riot Platforms (RIOT) to $15.50 from $15 and kept an Overweight 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 and TeraWulf (WULF).

PRICE ACTION: As of time of writing, bitcoin rose roughly 3% this week to $70,220 in U.S. dollars, according to CoinDesk.