Bitcoin mining equities surged to unprecedented zeniths within the first fortnight of this month, propelled by gains in both pure-play and high-performance computing (HPC) miners, according to a Tuesday research communiqué by JPMorgan.

“U.S.-listed miners’ global hashrate share ascended to an all-time high of 26.6%,” elucidated analysts Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce, highlighting a robust increase of 2.4% since June’s conclusion and a 5.6% uplift post-bitcoin halving.

Hashrate signifies the aggregate computational prowess employed to mine and authenticate transactions on a proof-of-work blockchain, serving as an indicator of industry competition and mining intricacy.

The cumulative market capitalization of the 14 U.S.-listed bitcoin miners monitored by the bank experienced a 29% surge since late June, now trading at “2.6 times their proportional share of the quadrennial block reward, an unprecedented peak,” the analysts noted.

This trend suggests the market perceives the artificial intelligence and HPC avenues as potential, lucrative alternatives for bitcoin mining operations, the report inferred.

Despite a 1% uptick in network hashrate since June, it remains approximately 60 exahashes per second (EH/s) beneath pre-halving thresholds, the bank observed.

June witnessed U.S.-listed miners augmenting their capacity by a record 17 EH/s. Riot Platforms (RIOT), Bitfarms (BITF), and CleanSpark (CLSK) spearheaded these gains.

Every miner, barring Stronghold Digital (SDIG) which declined by 8%, outshone bitcoin within this timeframe. Cipher Mining (CIFR) led the surge with a remarkable 44% escalation.

Brokerage Bernstein echoed this optimism regarding the AI/HPC opportunity in a report last week. It highlighted recent AI partnerships, including Core Scientific’s (CORZ) 12-year pact with CoreWeave and Coatue Management’s $150 million investment in HUT 8 (HUT), as pivotal sector catalysts.