The Top 5 Crypto Mining Stocks Expected to Land in 2022
Here at American Institute for Crypto Investors, we recommend investing directly in cryptocurrencies to maximize your gains. But we understand that some investors will want to use crypto stocks as an easier, somewhat less risky way to gain exposure to the crypto sector.
Certainly, buying stocks avoids the technical challenges and headaches of storage, possible hacks, and wallet address errors that can send your crypto into oblivion.
And investors seeking exposure to cryptocurrencies via the stock market will get more choices in 2022, with miners continuing to dominate.
The number of crypto mining stocks trading on United States markets already ranges into the high teens. And if you’re wondering why you haven’t heard about all those IPOs, well, that’s because most of those companies did not have public offerings.
One common path to the market has been a reverse merger, where an existing publicly-traded company switches to crypto mining and changes its name. That’s what Riot Blockchain Inc. (Nasdaq: RIOT) did in 2018. Others have taken the popular SPAC route, like Cipher Mining Inc. (Nasdaq: CIFR) did last year.
We’ve also seen more crypto companies do IPOs, including the splashy Coinbase Global Inc. (Nasdaq: COIN) direct listing IPO last April.
And so far, it looks like 2022 will again be dominated by miners, most of them SPACs.
With that in mind, here’s a preview of the top 5 crypto mining stocks expected to land in 2022 – including which are worth getting excited about…
1. Core Scientific
Type: SPAC
Just a few weeks into the year and the first new crypto stock of 2022 is Bitcoin (BTC) miner Core Scientific (Nasdaq: CORZ), which started trading Thursday after taking the SPAC (special-purpose acquisition company) route to the markets. Blackrock Inc. was the anchor investor.
What sets Core Scientific apart: Core Scientific not only mines its own Bitcoin but it also provides services for third-party miners, including infrastructure and technology. It’s one of the biggest Bitcoin miners in North America, with 6.6 exahashes of mining power – double that of most of its rivals. Its customers have a combined 6.9 exahashes. The company has more than 70 patents associated with digital asset mining. It operates in Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, and North Dakota, with a site planned for Texas. Through using green power and buying credits, it seeks to keep its operations carbon-neutral.
Financials: Core Scientific has yet to report its 2021 results, but it estimated revenue at $493 million, with estimated EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) at $203 million. As of last September, Core Scientific was not profitable, recording a net loss of $75 million. For 2022, the company expects revenue of $1.14 billion and EBITDA of $572 million.
2. Rhodium Technologies
Type: IPO
The first crypto initial public offering (IPO) of 2022 was to be Bitcoin miner Rhodium Technologies (Nasdaq: RHDM). It was set to go public Thursday but was postponed at the last minute due to concerns over market conditions. It’s now unclear when Rhodium will start trading.
Since Rhodium was on the brink of its IPO, we know some of those details. The plan was to sell 7.7 million shares priced somewhere between $12 and $14 to raise as much as $108 million. The proceeds were to be used to pay down existing debt incurred from building up its current mining operation.
What sets Rhodium apart: Rhodium has a proprietary liquid-cooling technology, which the company claims allows it to “mine more Bitcoin with fewer miners.” The company also says the technology will extend the life of the mining hardware by 30% to 50%. Rhodium mines in crypto-friendly Texas, where it plans to tap that state’s “independent power market and abundance of low-cost renewable energy resources.” As of December 31, 2021, it was running 2.7 exahashes of mining power.
Financials: Rhodium showed a profit last year. For the nine months ended September 30, 2021, it reported $46.1 million in net income ($0.10 per share) on $82.1 million in revenue. The company had $103.8 million in cash on hand.
3. PrimeBlock
Type: SPAC
PrimeBlock plans to merge with a company called 10X Venture Acquisition. Shares are expected to trade on the Nasdaq exchange. It’s a relatively new company, so information on it is sparse.
What sets PrimeBlock apart: PrimeBlock provides end-to-end mining infrastructure and hosting services to third parties. It aims to one of the most energy-efficient mining operations in the industry and operates four sites in North America. It currently has 1 exahash of mining power.
Financials: PrimeBlock expects to generate annualized revenue of $100 million.
4. Griid
Type: SPAC
Griid has a SPAC deal with a company called Adit EdTech Acquisition Corp. It is expected to trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker GRDI.
What sets Griid apart: Griid has made a deal with Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC) to be one of the first customers of the chipmaker’s new Bonanza Mine ASIC miners. Most Bitcoin miners use ASICs made by China-based Bitmain. If Intel’s miners are indeed cheaper and more efficient than Bitmain’s, it could be an advantage for Griid. The company also says it strives to lead the industry in its use of carbon-free energy. The Ohio-based company has little mining power now (0.187 exahashes), but expects to have 4.9 exahashes by the end of 2022.
Financials: Griid only recently started operations, so I can only give you company projections. Griid expects revenue of $502.9 million in 2022 and EBITDA of $406.5 million.
5. Bitdeer
Type: SPAC
Bitdeer is a spinoff of Chinese ASIC-maker Bitmain. The plan is for it to go public on the Nasdaq exchange by merging with a company called Blue Safari Group.
What sets Bitdeer apart: Bitdeer offers cloud-based crypto mining services to third parties while mining Bitcoin for itself as well. It says it has customers in more than 200 countries. Bitdeer operates five mining data centers in the U.S. and Norway. Because of its origins, the company has an unusually close relationship with ASIC supplier Bitmain, which should translate to getting the latest mining equipment a bit sooner than rivals.
Financials: According to a company presentation from December, Bitdeer made $215 million in revenue in the first half of 2021, with EBITDA coming in at $183 million and net income at $114 million. The full-year projection for 2021 was $380 million in revenue and $276 million in EBITDA.
Which Crypto Mining Stock Should I Buy?
It’s usually wise to hold off on buying any newly listed stock. The first week of so of trading can be very volatile. You also want to see if the pricing holds up. Wall Street takes a dim view of any new stock that falls below its offer price.
Also bear in mind that the price of Bitcoin will exert a lot of influence over the prices of crypto mining stocks. Even a well-run mining company with an excellent strategy will suffer when crypto prices crash.
That said, crypto miners are a perfectly legitimate way to get some exposure to cryptocurrencies. But there are a confusing array of choices, so I have some suggestions to help you ferret out the best prospects.
First, look at the size of the mining operation.
Companies with more hash power will mine more crypto and make more profit. The miners know this all too well – they’re all planning to add a lot more hash power this year.
Also, look for any differentiating factor that might give the company an edge.
Does the company have access to cheaper electricity than competitors? Lower costs mean higher profit margins.
Is it using all or mostly green energy? If so, it will help insulate the company from the pushback the mining industry is getting for contributing to climate change.
Does the company have some kind of proprietary technology or system that makes it more efficient than rivals?
You’ll also want to look at some fundamental data.
Remember, these are stocks, not cryptocurrencies. Look at the balance sheet. Miners with too much debt and not enough cash will fall behind in the “arms race” of buying newer, faster, more efficient mining hardware.
Another useful metric with miners is the price-to-sales ratio. Companies with a lower P/S ratio suggest they could be a better bargain.
Of the companies on this list, I’d keep an eye on Core Scientific. It already has more mining hash power than just about all of its competitors and is rapidly adding more, as well as a carbon-neutral strategy.
Plus, it had the misfortune of coming to market just prior to a crypto market plunge, so it’s suddenly oversold.
As I mentioned earlier, investing in cryptocurrencies directly is your best bet for making big gains. And my colleague Tom Gentile has discovered a little-known group of tiny “penny coins” that are racking up some of the biggest gains we’ve seen anywhere…even crushing Bitcoin by 75X in the same six-month time frame. He’ll tell you everything you need to know right here.
Take care,
David Zeiler
Advisory Board Member, American Institute for Crypto Investors
Follow me on Twitter @DavidGZeiler.