The launch of the Bitcoin ETF in January has propelled the price of BTC upwards over the last 50 days. However, companies involved in mining the leading cryptocurrency have not experienced the same level of excitement as investors. There is one notable exception, though.

Several public mining firms have seen their shares trade flat or decrease since the beginning of 2024. For instance, Riot Platforms (RIOT) has experienced a decline of 6.2%, while Iris Energy (IREN) has plummeted by 11%. Although mining giants like Bitfarms (BITF) and Marathon Digital (MARA) have witnessed some appreciation, it's been relatively modest, with increases of only 5% and 17% respectively.

In contrast, the price of BTC has surged by 42% year-to-date, and BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has seen a 35% increase since its launch.

This discrepancy is peculiar considering the close correlation between Bitcoin's price and the business model of miners. Mining companies invest in expensive machinery and power to generate a consistent supply of new BTC issued by the network. As the mining industry receives direct BTC-denominated payouts, their revenue in dollars typically rises in line with Bitcoin's price. Currently, miners earn 6.25 BTC with each Bitcoin block, which is produced approximately every 10 minutes on average.

However, with the Bitcoin halving scheduled for April, the per-BTC reward is set to decrease permanently to 3.125 BTC per block. Analysts from firms like JPMorgan predict that the halving could drive smaller, less efficient miners out of business.

Isaac Holyoak, Chief Communications Officer of CleanSpark, noted, "There has been a healthy pullback in the miner category over the last few days." He added, "But prior to that, mining stocks really front-ran the recent Bitcoin price increase—almost all miners were well ahead of Bitcoin."

"We are seeing a bit of stabilization across the industry as Bitcoin and mining stocks return to parity," he said.

However, miners have other revenue streams, which have been a boon for Bitcoin-friendly cloud computing firm CleanSpark (CLSK).

The rise in popularity of Bitcoin BRC-20 tokens last year increased transaction fees on Bitcoin, resulting in miners receiving additional payouts with each block. Additionally, Bitcoin mining firms are venturing into AI by providing high-performance cloud computing services, which executives claim are more profitable per unit of energy than BTC mining.

CleanSpark has stood out among public Bitcoin miners by surpassing BTC performance this year. Its shares have increased by 64% year-to-date, doubling in value last month alone.

Over the past 12 months, CLSK has significantly outperformed BTC, experiencing a 603% increase.

Holyoak suggested that Bitcoin ETFs and mining firms offer different opportunities to investors depending on their risk appetite.

"Miners that are prepared for halving will likely continue to be rewarded with investor confidence," he concluded.