No deals – just talk
The U.S. war with Iran has been going on for nearly three months now. The parties still haven’t reached any significant consensus. The beleaguered CLARITY bill, which aims to delineate the powers of American regulatory bodies over crypto assets, has been under discussion for many months. Against this backdrop, Bitcoin keeps going up and down. But what’s the scoop on crypto-focused companies, you know, those that are investing in the asset, accepting it as payment, or just mining?
BitMine Immersion Technologies (NYSE: BMNR)
The top 10 largest crypto companies by market cap begins with the largest holder of Ethereum, BitMine Immersion Technologies, at $10.75 billion. In May, its shares lost 11.78%. Despite this, the company continued to actively purchase Ethereum. Following the latest acquisition of 71,672 ETH, its total stash reached an impressive 5.28 million ETH. The decline in BMNR's share price was driven by the decrease in the price of the second largest cryptocurrency.
TeraWulf (NASDAQ: WULF)
Ninth in the top tier is TeraWulf with a market cap of $11.3 billion. Formerly a pure miner, it is now developing HPC infrastructure based on artificial intelligence (AI). The company's shares recorded a 5.02% increase in May. Even a disappointing Q1 earnings report, which showed a net loss of $427 million, did not hinder this growth. The main reason for TeraWulf's positive share price dynamics is the optimistic assessments from analysts. Investment firm Needham values the shares at $28 (23% above the market price at the end of May), broker Rosenblatt at $27 (up 18% compared to the closing price on May 22), while banking giant Morgan Stanley even values them at $42 (84% higher).
Hut 8 (NASDAQ: HUT)
Eighth place goes to Hut 8, which was previously focused solely on mining but is now also pivoting towards HPC and AI. In May, the company's shares with a market cap of $11.92 billion skyrocketed by 39.75%. The jump was fueled by a positive Q1 earnings report. Hut 8 is still posting a loss per share of $0.12, but that's one and a half times better than the same period last year. Revenue from January to March more than tripled, rising from $21.82 million in Q1 2025 to $71.02 million in Q1 2026.
IREN (NASDAQ: IREN)
The only Australian company in the top tier is IREN (formerly Iris Energy) with a market cap of $20.3 billion. Initially a pure miner, it's also developing AI data centers. In May, IREN's shares jumped nearly a quarter in price. The main catalyst for this growth was an agreement with chipmaker Nvidia. The organizations signed a five-year contract worth $3.4 billion. The deal outlines AI development projects for Nvidia, while the chipmaker will support the deployment of IREN's 5 GW data centers. Moreover, Nvidia has an option worth $2.1 billion at $70 per share. This will help IREN raise capital if needed. However, the option can only be exercised once Nvidia's GPUs are operational in the data centers.
PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL)
In sixth place is the payment service PayPal, with a market cap of $39.01 billion. This company not only allows its clients to conduct cryptocurrency transactions but also has its own stablecoin, PYUSD. In May, PYPL shares dropped by 11.79%. The culprit was the Q1 earnings report. Interestingly, it was overall positive: revenue rose by 7% compared to the previous year, reaching $8.35 billion, and payment volume increased by 11%, hitting $464 billion. The issue lies in the negative guidance provided by PayPal for the next three months, up to the end of June. Company representatives expect a 9% decrease in adjusted earnings per share.
Block (NYSE: XYZ)
Payment service Block (formerly Square) occupies the fifth spot with a market cap of $40.51 billion. The company not only allows its users to pay for goods and services with cryptocurrency but also invests in Bitcoin. May brought a 3.45% decline in share value. This situation arose from a mixed Q1 earnings report. On one hand, Block's revenue grew by 4.9%, reaching $6.06 billion, up from $5.77 billion a year earlier. On the other hand, a net loss of $308.68 million was reported, which was worse than consensus estimates.
Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (NYSE: GBTC)
Fourth place goes to the spot ETF of Grayscale. The market cap of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust stands at $41.08 billion. The price of shares (units) in this fund changed little in May, dropping by 0.93%. The near-zero fluctuation of GBTC securities is linked to the lack of significant Bitcoin price movements. Meanwhile, the fund continues to experience cash outflows, which amounted to $155.14 million in May.
Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN)
At the top of the list of crypto companies is the American exchange Coinbase, with a market cap of $48.73 billion. Shares of this trading platform showed a decrease of 1.48% in May. The main reason is a dismal Q1 earnings report. From January to March, Coinbase recorded a net loss of $394 million, a stark contrast to the profit of $66 million during the same three months last year. Additionally, investors reacted cautiously to the news of 700 layoffs (14% of the total workforce) at the company. Coinbase attributed this move to a shift towards AI.
Strategy (NASDAQ: MSTR)
Second place goes to the company with the largest Bitcoin reserves, Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), with a market cap of $56.13 billion. In May, its shares lost 3.36%. Firstly, at the beginning of the month, a Q1 earnings report was published, where Strategy
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