Bitcoin mining stocks plummet on Friday but still outperform BTC in 2026 performance.

May 16, 2026

On Friday, May 15, 2026, publicly-listed bitcoin mining stocks experienced a significant decline, with all major traded mining stocks dropping between 2.52% and 9.59% in just one session. Despite this, the year-to-date gains of these mining stocks still outperformed bitcoin’s own performance by a considerable margin.

Bitcoin itself closed the week at $77,849, marking an 11.1% decrease year-to-date. However, despite this decline, all of the top ten mining stocks currently sit at values well above this figure, with various factors contributing to their outperformance compared to the cryptocurrency itself.

Hut 8 Corp. leads the pack in year-to-date gains among the top ten publicly-traded mining stocks, boasting an impressive 123.16% increase and trading at $102.52 per share, despite experiencing a 6.26% decline on Friday. The company has been focusing on enhancing its infrastructure by introducing artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities under a significant lease agreement, providing high-performance compute capacity to enterprise clients.

Following closely behind is Terawulf, Inc., which has seen a 95.56% gain year-to-date, despite a 7.03% decline on the day. With a market cap of $9.17 billion, Terawulf has secured substantial high-performance computing (HPC) revenue through partnerships with industry giants like Google and Fluidstack. Applied Digital Corporation trails with a 72.38% YTD return, although it suffered a 9.50% loss on Friday.

Riot Platforms, Inc. experienced a modest 3.96% decline on Friday, reflecting an 86.62% gain year-to-date and a market cap of $8.94 billion. The company has been strategically transitioning its focus from bitcoin production to broader compute services, while Core Scientific, Inc. only dropped 2.52% on Friday, showcasing a 66.82% YTD gain and a solid market cap of $7.72 billion.

MAR Holdings, Inc. posted a 6.39% loss on Friday, with a 38.53% YTD return still surpassing that of bitcoin. Cleanspark, Inc. also saw a 5% decline on Friday, managing a 31.22% YTD return. Bitdeer Technologies Group recorded the largest single-day decline among the group at 9.59%, although its 18.95% YTD gain remains higher than that of bitcoin.

IREN Limited, with a market cap of $19.14 billion, dropped 8.17% on Friday and has seen a 12.37% decrease over the past five days, marking the steepest five-day decline in the top ten. This underscores the short-term pressure faced by the sector, even as year-to-date gains remain stable.

Overall, the strong year-to-date performances of these top mining stocks have been a result of a deliberate shift away from pure bitcoin mining towards AI and high-performance computing workloads. Miners have rapidly adapted to industry changes by converting megawatt capacities to these alternative revenue-generating avenues, with AI and HPC revenues expected to make up a significant percentage of total revenue across listed miners by the end of 2026.