IREN Leads Bitcoin Mining Gains in 2025 Amid AI Diversification, Bitdeer Struggles
In 2025, the bitcoin mining sector saw significant shifts driven by AI and data center diversification. IREN led the market with roughly +300% year-to-date (YTD) gains, supported by major GPU cloud deals and backing from Microsoft.
Cipher Mining gained +230% YTD by expanding AI hosting partnerships with FluidStack. Hut 8 delivered +139% YTD performance, buoyed by a $7 billion, 15-year AI data center lease for 245 MW at its River Bend site in Louisiana.
Conversely, Marathon Digital declined -44% YTD as bitcoin holders faced weaker earnings and postponed AI initiatives, despite holding 53,250 BTC. CleanSpark and Riot Platforms experienced more modest gains of +16% and +32% YTD respectively, underperforming earlier due to later AI diversification efforts.
Core Scientific increased +9% YTD after shareholders rejected a $9 billion all-stock takeover bid from CoreWeave in October, choosing to remain independent amid rising AI demand.
In stark contrast, Bitdeer Technologies' stock fell around 50% YTD following a larger-than-expected third-quarter net loss and delays in its ASIC chip release, creating uncertainty around its AI expansion plans.
The bitcoin price was approximately $87,095.04, down about 7% YTD. Overall, miners leveraging AI and high-performance computing outperformed traditional BTC-focused operators as the industry broadened its diversification into AI and data center infrastructure.
