Public Miners Raise $1.6B in Q1 Ahead of Bitcoin Halving

Large-scale public bitcoin mining firms with ambitious growth plans in North America have raised more funds from stock offerings in Q1 alone than they did during the second half of 2023.

According to recent production updates and SEC filings, CleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK), Iris Energy, Marathon and Riot are estimated to have raised $1.6 billion in Q1 ahead of bitcoin’s halving event, dwarfing the $1.25 billion they raised in Q3 and Q4 last year.

Meanwhile, their stock prices so far this year are all underperforming bitcoin amid the share dilution. CLSK was the only one among the four companies that recorded a gain YTD, but it declined sharply over the past week after insider transactions while announcing a new at-the-market (ATM) plan.

In a March production update on Thursday, Iris Energy said it had received $72 million from its latest ATM offerings between Mar. 16 and 29, in addition to the $213 million it raised in Q1 as of Mar. 15. The remaining capacity of the $500 million ATM is $166 million, the firm added.