As Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies continue to captivate investor interest, Wall Street and traditional banking institutions are evolving to accommodate this paradigm shift in the financial landscape. This week’s top stories, compiled by The Fly, highlight the convergence between conventional finance and the burgeoning world of digital assets.

### Bitfarms Expands U.S. Operations

**Bitfarms Assumes Control of Sharon, PA Site:** On Tuesday, Bitfarms (BITF) announced its definitive lease agreement and takeover of a new data center in Sharon, Pennsylvania. This site, boasting up to 120 MW of power capacity, marks Bitfarms’ inaugural mega-site in the U.S. As part of this transaction, the company has secured 110 MW, with plans to bring 30 MW online by the end of 2024. Additionally, Bitfarms has signed a letter of intent for a lease on an extra 10 MW site, aiming to reach full 120 MW capacity by 2025. CEO Ben Gagnon highlighted that this expansion significantly bolsters their U.S. presence and kickstarts an ambitious growth strategy. The Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland grid, being the largest wholesale electricity market in the U.S., offers competitively priced and flexible power ideal for Bitcoin mining and other high-performance computing applications. With the latest generation miners, the site is projected to support up to 8 EH/s+ while offering substantial opportunities for energy cost hedging through curtailment, demand-response, and energy trading.

In related news, B. Riley raised its price target for Stronghold Digital Mining (SDIG) from $5 to $6, maintaining a Neutral rating. The analyst sees the Bitfarms-Stronghold combination as beneficial for both entities, citing a transaction premium as a factor for the target increase.

### Cryptocurrency Earnings Reports

**IREN Financial Performance:** IREN (IREN) reported a FY24 loss per share of (29c) on $188.8M in revenue, improving from a ($3.14) loss per share on $81.9M revenue the previous year. Bitcoin mining revenue rose to $184.1M with 4,191 bitcoins mined compared to $75.5M and 3,259 bitcoins in FY23. Co-CEO Daniel Roberts expressed satisfaction with the growth in revenue, earnings, and cashflow, stating that the company is on track to achieve its 20 EH/s milestone next month and 30 EH/s by year-end.

However, Compass Point analyst Joe Flynn lowered IREN’s price target from $18.50 to $16 while maintaining a Buy rating. The Q4 results fell short of estimates due to higher operating expenses and an increase in HPC/AI engineering talent. Despite these setbacks, Flynn noted IREN’s valuable land/power portfolio and HPC potential but cited increased opex and share count estimates for the target cut.

Conversely, Macquarie analyst Paul Golding raised IREN’s price target from $12 to $13.50, keeping an Outperform rating. Despite slightly below-market Q4 results due to network difficulty, Golding noted an added capacity of about 4.5 EH/s since the last update and highlighted the potential of AI-fueled HPC business in their projections.

**Applied Digital’s Quarterly Results:** Applied Digital (APLD) reported a Q4 loss per share of (36c) on $47.3M revenue, compared to analyst expectations of (22c) on $37.6M revenue. CEO Wes Cummins emphasized significant progress despite transformer issues at their Ellendale Data Center Hosting facility. He highlighted growth in their Cloud Services business and a letter of intent with a U.S.-based hyperscaler for 400 MW capacity.

Following this report, Roth MKM analyst Darren Aftahi reduced Applied Digital’s price target from $11 to $10 while maintaining a Buy rating. The larger-than-expected losses were attributed to higher GPU depreciation and HPC costs. Aftahi stressed the importance of formal lease signing and project financing for growth and stock appreciation.

**Argo Blockchain’s Financial Update:** Argo Blockchain (ARBK) reported a 1H24 loss per share of (6c) on $29.3M revenue compared to a (4c) loss per share on $24M revenue last year. The bitcoin mined during 1H24 was 507, down from 947 in 1H23 due to increased global hashrate and reduced bitcoin denominated hash price. CEO Thomas Chippas pointed out that financial discipline enabled them to pay off a $35M debt to Galaxy, positioning them for future strategic investments.

### Legal and Market Developments

**Dogecoin Lawsuit Against Tesla Dismissed:** A judge dismissed a lawsuit against Elon Musk and Tesla (TSLA), which alleged that Musk had inflated Dogecoin’s price into a $258B pyramid scheme through promotional tweets. The judge ruled Musk’s statements were aspirational rather than factual.

**Nasdaq Files for Bitcoin Index Options:** Nasdaq (NDAQ), in partnership with CF Benchmarks, filed with the SEC to list and trade Nasdaq Bitcoin Index Options. This would allow investors to manage positions and hedge investments in cryptocurrency through options, enhancing asset class maturity and liquidity.

**CME Group Introduces Bitcoin Friday Futures:** CME Group (CME) will expand its cryptocurrency derivatives with Bitcoin Friday futures starting September 30, pending regulatory review. These contracts will be cash-settled weekly to closely track bitcoin’s spot price, aiding investors in managing weekend price volatility.

### Publicly Traded Crypto Companies

Companies involved in this space include Bit Digital (BTBT), Coinbase (COIN), Core Scientific (CORZ), Greenidge Generation (GREE), Marathon Digital (MARA), MicroStrategy (MSTR), Riot Platforms (RIOT), Stronghold Digital Mining (SDIG), and TeraWulf (WULF).

### Market Movement

As of this writing, Bitcoin has seen a roughly 7% decline this week, trading at approximately $59,555 according to CoinDesk.

This comprehensive summary underscores the dynamic interplay between traditional finance sectors and emerging cryptocurrency markets, spotlighting significant developments and financial metrics that shape this evolving landscape.