According to a recent Bloomberg article, Bitcoin mining company Cipher is considering a sale after receiving a takeover bid.
The report cited unnamed sources, who claimed that the company is currently deliberating and consulting with advisers to gauge potential interest, though management may consider not selling the company.
Shares of Cipher (CIFR) jumped to a high of $8.00 following the news but fell back down to $6.56. However, this still represents a sharp increase from the start of 2024, when the stock was trading at a high of $4.77.
Cipher upgrades operations
In December 2023, Cipher purchased 37,000 T21 Antminers, valued at $99.5 million. Shortly after, in January 2024, the company purchased an additional 16,700 Avalon A1466 miners, with the goal of delivering 8.4 exahashes per second (EH/s) in computational power.
The rise of publicly traded mining companies
Mining industry executives have mobilized politically, having recently met with 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump. Political advocacy has gained industry-wide traction ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Mining stocks saw gains in recent weeks as the crypto industry came under sharper focus due to political developments. Mining stocks rose 10% after former President Trump promised to support the mining industry.
According to Trump, “All the remaining Bitcoin [should] be made in the USA,” signaling his desire to bring more of the highly competitive industry to the United States and not let anti-innovation regulators drive miners to other jurisdictions.
Bitcoin mining stocks surged on July 15, alongside Bitcoin (BTC), after selling pressure from the German government ceased and tumultuous political developments in the United States raised the odds of former President Trump’s chances of winning the election on predictive markets.
The rise in Bitcoin mining stocks is accompanied by a growing trend of US-based Bitcoin miners holding onto their coins in anticipation of greater future profits. Marathon Digital did not sell any of its Bitcoin mined in June, despite mining being a capital-intensive business typically requiring periodic BTC sales to pay operational costs.