MARA up 5% as CLARITY Act optimism lifts crypto miners

Shares of public Bitcoin miner MARA surged nearly 5% at press time, driven by renewed momentum around the CLARITY Act, the crypto market structure bill.

The White House agreed to ethics provisions to help secure Democratic support and unlock the bill for a final Senate floor vote. Bitcoin [BTC] extended its relief rally from $63,100 to nearly $67,000, a 6% jump over two days. The broader mining segment joined the move. The Coinshares Bitcoin Mining ETF, which tracks the ecosystem, rose 6.5%. Riot Platforms stock, RIOT, posted an 8% daily gain.

On a year-to-date basis, the mining sector has outperformed BTC on investor returns. BTC was down 24.5% YTD and traded at $66,000 as of writing. MARA stock was up 36%, and RIOT had surged 70% over the same period. The mining segment posted 46% average gains in 2026, meaning stockholders outperformed spot BTC holders.

That divergence may stem from most public miners pivoting to AI infrastructure. Bullish AI updates may have boosted the stocks despite Bitcoin's weakness in the first half of the year.

Earlier this month, MARA's VP of investor relations, Robert Samuels, pushed back on Morgan Stanley's bearish projection of a 53% fall to $7. Samuels said the valuation treated MARA as a pure BTC miner, ignoring its AI ventures. The miner held 36,300 BTC, worth $2.4 billion, after reducing its stash from 53,800 BTC to fund AI ventures and clear debt.

The sell-off let Metaplanet surpass MARA as the world's third-largest BTC treasury holder. Eight analysts expect MARA stock to reach $18.50, a 51% upside from current levels, according to consensus estimates.

AlphaScala's Alpha Score rates MARA at 37/100 (Mixed) and RIOT at 61/100 (Moderate).