Rising Rates Hammer Cryptocurrency Miners as Bitcoin Treasury Takes a Backseat

The stock prices of several major cryptocurrency miners are taking a hit due to rising interest rates. MARA Holdings, which has a substantial Bitcoin treasury, saw its shares fall by 5% to $9.25 in early Tuesday trading. Riot Platforms also declined by 4% to $19.20.

MARA Holdings operates 19 data centers across four continents and is vertically integrated across power, land, and compute. The company holds a significant Bitcoin treasury of 35,577 coins, but rising interest rates have weighed on its stock price. Miners fund large construction projects ahead of revenue from those facilities, so borrowing costs and the discount rate on future contracted cash flows drive valuations.

While MARA Holdings' market capitalization is around $3.58 billion, its share price has been affected by rising interest rates. The 10-year Treasury yield is near its 52-week high of 4.7%, which has put pressure on rate-sensitive AI infrastructure names like MARA Holdings and Riot Platforms.

Investors are watching to see how the remaining buildout gets funded for MARA Holdings, as well as whether contracted cash flows arrive quickly enough to justify the current pipeline. The company's 35,577 Bitcoin treasury is a balance sheet cushion, but the near-term stock move is being decided by rates.