A piece out in the Wall Street Journal over the weekend included speculation that Bitcoin could be worth as much as $146,000 per coin. This would have appeared absurd just a few months ago, when it was trading around the $10k level. However, nowadays, it looks like a reasonable extrapolation from recent events, with the coin already near a test of $60k.
A few more months like the last few, and it will be a fait accompli.
Nearly 80% of bitcoin’s supply is illiquid, according to analyst firms like Glassnode. Those coins are held by long-term investors who won’t sell no matter what or for some reason don’t have access to the coins they own.
That means that only about 4.2 million bitcoins are in circulation. So, it’s like a low float stock with huge demand, creating something like a squeeze.
With that in mind, we take a look at some of the current leaders among Bitcoin stocks, including: Canaan Inc – ADR (NASDAQ:CAN), HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd (OTCMKTS:HVBTF), ISW Holdings Ord Shs (OTCMKTS:ISWH), and Sos Ltd – ADR (NYSE:SOS).
Canaan Inc – ADR (NASDAQ:CAN) bills itself as a company that provides high-performance computing solutions to efficiently solve complex problems. In 2016, Canaan successfully initiated the production of its first 16nm chip and passed the test to receive China’s national high-tech enterprise certification. In 2018, Canaan achieved major technological breakthroughs to launch the K210, the world’s first-ever RISC-V-based edge artificial intelligence (AI) chip, which is now widely used for access control in situations such as smart door locks and more.
Canaan Inc. is currently focused on the research and development of advanced technology, including such areas as AI chips, AI algorithms, AI architectures, system on a chip (SoC) integration and chip integration. Using the AI chip as its base, Canaan Inc. has established an intellectual value chain. Canaan Inc. also provides a suite of AI service solutions and is able to tailor these solutions to the needs of its partners.
Canaan Inc – ADR (NASDAQ:CAN) most recently announced that its revenue visibility has improved substantially in 2021 as a result of attaining purchase orders totaling more than 100,000 units of bitcoin mining machines from customers in North America.
Mr. Nangeng Zhang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canaan, commented, “We have changed our operations model in 2021. Previously we were selling bitcoin mining machines mostly to individual mining operators who may not have longer-term planning. In late 2020, we shifted our client base to mostly publicly traded companies and bitcoin-focused investment funds which tend to place sizable orders with longer-term commitment. As a result, we can now forecast our revenue much more precisely.”
If you’re long this stock, then you’re liking how the stock has responded to the announcement. CAN shares have been moving higher over the past week overall, pushing about 133% to the upside on above average trading volume. Shares of the stock have powered higher over the past month, rallying roughly 416% in that time on strong overall action.
Canaan Inc – ADR (NASDAQ:CAN) managed to rope in revenues totaling $23.6M in overall sales during the company’s most recently reported quarterly financial data — a figure that represents a rate of top line growth of -75.3%, as compared to year-ago data in comparable terms. In addition, the company has a strong balance sheet, with cash levels far exceeding current liabilities ($56.7M against $24.4M).
HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd (OTCMKTS:HVBTF) owns state-of-the-art green energy-powered data centre facilities in Canada, Sweden, and Iceland which produce newly minted digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum continuously on the cloud.
The company’s deployments provide shareholders with exposure to the operating margins of digital currency mining as well as a portfolio of crypto coins.
HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd (OTCMKTS:HVBTF) recently announced an agreement to expand the footprint of its Sweden GPU mining datacenter by an immediate 2 MW, at an estimated cost of $9 million, by the end of April 2021.
According to the release, by the end of 2021 the company is planning a 30% increase in its Ethereum mining capacity. The immediate expansion of the operating footprint would be accomplished through an infrastructure re-fitting of a portion of its existing facility in Boden, Sweden at an estimated cost of US$ 250,000 and the purchase of new generation GPU chips and associated mining rigs to house them at an estimated cost of US$ 8.75 million.
And the stock has been acting well over recent days, up something like 108% in that time. Shares of the stock have powered higher over the past month, rallying roughly 177% in that time on strong overall action.
HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd (OTCMKTS:HVBTF) pulled in sales of $17.3M in its last reported quarterly financials, representing top line growth of 9.2%. In addition, the company has a strong balance sheet, with cash levels far exceeding current liabilities ($22.1M against $12.6M).
ISW Holdings Ord Shs (OTCMKTS:ISWH) is a relative newcomer onto the Bitcoin stock scene, though the company started its journey when it began diversifying its cash holdings into Bitcoin nearly two years ago. That level of involvement jumped dramatically when it signed a partnership agreement with Bit5ive and began designing its Pod5 datacenter mining pod early last year.
That process has come to fruition with the assembly, shipping, and full operational launch of the Pod5, which is now actively mining Bitcoin at the Bit5ive renewable energy crypto mining project in Pennsylvania. The Proceso Pod5 Datacenter mining solution offers next-generation dynamic self-management functionality, plug-and-play operation, virtually non-existent maintenance needs, and an industry best-in-class 1.06 Power Usage Effectiveness score.
ISW Holdings Inc (OTCMKTS:ISWH) recently announced that it is working to expand its mining capacity with the outfitting of three new mining datacenters, each equipped with hundreds of new mining rigs. That narrative was further advanced this morning when the company announced that, prior to going online with its new ASIC s17 miners, it has signed a comprehensive Hosting and Maintenance Agreement.
“As we continue to bring our miners online, we want our shareholders to be able to track the expansion and profitability of the Company’s mining activity given the sharp rising trend in Bitcoin prices,” commented Alonzo Pierce, President and Chairman of ISW Holdings.
Little known ISWH has actually been one of the most impressive and dynamic stocks in the space, rallying over 6,000% higher since November. That momentum continued yesterday with another massive breakout. That said, its market cap is still just a tiny fraction of the bigger players in the space such as RIOT and MARA.
ISW Holdings Ord Shs (OTCMKTS:ISWH) has, apart from its rapid expansion of operations in the cryptocurrency space, also demonstrated strong growth in its telehealth segment, with seven consecutive quarters of sharp sequential growth. Its most recent quarter put the company on an annual run-rate to pull in more than $1.5 million in revenues. That doesn’t include the big topline gains likely to be reflected in coming reports from its expanding crypto mining and mining equipment segment.
Sos Ltd – ADR (NYSE:SOS) promulgates itself as an emerging blockchain-based and big data-driven marketing and solution provider, with a nationwide membership base of approximately 20 million in China. Recently, SOS started to get ready to roll out its cryptocurrency mining business and plans to develop insurance and security management solutions for digital assets and cryptocurrencies.
The core infrastructure of the company’s marketing data, technology, and solutions to insurance and emergency rescue services is built on big data, blockchain-based technology, cloud computing, AI, satellite, and 5G network, etc. SOS Limited, through its operating subsidiary, SOS Information Technology Co., Ltd. is a high-technology company providing a wide range of services to its corporate and individual members, including marketing data, technology, and solutions for emergency rescue services.
Sos Ltd – ADR (NYSE:SOS) most recently announced that it has entered into a securities purchase agreement with certain accredited investors to purchase $86,000,000 worth of its American Depositary Shares and warrants in a registered direct offering priced at-the-market under the NYSE rules.
According to the release, under the terms of the securities purchase agreement, the Company has agreed to sell 8,600,000 ADSs and warrants to purchase 4,300,000 ADS. The warrants will be exercisable immediately upon the date of issuance and have an exercise price of $10.00. The warrants will expire five years from the date of issuance. The purchase price for one ADS and one corresponding warrant will be $10.00. The gross proceeds to the Company from the registered direct offering are estimated to be $86,000,000 before deducting the placement agent’s fees and other estimated offering expenses.
The context for this announcement is a bit of a bid, with shares acting well over the past five days, up about 78% in that timeframe. Sos Ltd – ADR (NYSE:SOS) generated sales of $14.3M, according to information released in the company’s most recent quarterly financial report. That adds up to a sequential quarter-over-quarter growth rate of 165.9% on the top line. In addition, the company has a strong balance sheet, with cash levels far exceeding current liabilities ($52.5M against $0).
