Key Miners and Crypto Exchanges Prepare to Publish Quarterly Reports
This week, reports are expected from Strategy (MSTR), Coinbase, MARA Holdings, CleanSpark, and others, showing first-quarter results. Riot previously reported selling 3,778 BTC.
The topic of quarterly reports from key players in the cryptocurrency and Bitcoin mining sector is central to the market this week. It's not just a "numbers check," but a demonstration of a fundamental shift: how to survive in an environment of squeezed mining margins and where to go next. Below is an analysis based on available data, excluding topics already covered in the original request.
Quarterly Snapshot of the Crypto Industry: From Strategic Accumulation to the Flight into AI
Introduction
The first week of May 2026 promises to be a "moment of truth" for public companies in the crypto sector. After Riot Platforms already released its results, selling 3,778 BTC in the first quarter, the baton is passed to industry giants — Strategy (MSTR), Coinbase, and MARA Holdings. Their reports will show how the largest holders and operators are coping with the aftermath of the "crypto winter," record operating costs, and a massive migration of capital into AI infrastructure. This reporting week will likely determine the direction of crypto-company stocks for the entire summer.
Event Details and Timeline
The first-quarter earnings season kicked off on April 30, when Riot disclosed its figures. Despite a drop in Bitcoin mining revenue to $111.9 million, the data center segment brought in $33.2 million in revenue, which was positively received by the market and led to a short-term stock surge of nearly 13%. However, the main events are unfolding now:
- May 5: Reports expected from Strategy (MSTR) and MARA Holdings. FactSet consensus estimates a loss for Strategy of $12.95 per share, while MARA may show a loss of about $0.45 per share.
- May 7: Crypto exchange Coinbase reports, with projected earnings of $0.26 per share and revenue around $1.5 billion.
- Following them, through May 8, numbers will be released by Hut 8, Core Scientific, CleanSpark, and TeraWulf.
Impact and Significance
This earnings season is unique because, for the first time, the results of strategic business diversification by miners are clearly evident. Previously, their stocks were seen as a proxy for Bitcoin's price, but now AI computing is becoming a growth driver. The scale of BTC sales by miners has reached an all-time high: in the first quarter, over 32,000 BTC were sold (exceeding sales for all of 2025) just to cover operating expenses and direct capital into high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure.
The average cost of mining one Bitcoin for public companies has approached a critical level, standing at $44,629 (excluding depreciation), and by some estimates reaching $80,000. With Bitcoin trading around $79,932, operating margins are razor-thin, pushing businesses to transition to contracts with tech giants like AMD, Microsoft, and Anthropic. This trend is significant for society as it redefines miners' role as an energy base for AI growth.
Meanwhile, Strategy, holding 818,334 BTC (about 3.9% of all Bitcoin supply), paused purchases before the report. However, the company remains a "black box" with $8.2 billion in debt and new financial instruments like preferred shares with yields up to 11.5% annually, creating a risk of shareholder dilution.
Coinbase is grappling with a decline in global trading volumes: according to Barclays, they have fallen 48% from peak levels to $4.3 trillion. However, the crypto exchange is betting on a transformation into an "Everything Exchange" and asset custody (about 12% of all cryptocurrencies worldwide).
Reactions of Key Players
The market's reaction to Riot's already published results demonstrates pragmatism. Investors were not troubled by the drop in Bitcoin mining, as compensation came from a contract with AMD to supply AI capacity. Analysts see this as a model for other miners: pure miners without diversification will likely face a harsher market reaction.
Strategy evokes polarizing opinions. Wall Street analysts with a "Strong Buy" rating (according to TipRanks) expect continued accumulation, while skeptics, including Peter Schiff, again accuse it of building a financial pyramid due to high dividend obligations to preferred shareholders. Strategy CEO Michael Saylor confirmed a tactical pause in purchases on social media: "No purchases this week" before the report.
As for MARA, which previously sold over 13,000 BTC in the quarter (and dropped out of the top three corporate holders), attention will be on their transition to AI. CleanSpark and Hut 8, whose reports are expected with projected losses of $0.23 to $0.34 per share, are under pressure to show a clear path to profitability through the HPC segment.
Forecast and Conclusions
This earnings week will likely confirm the final split of the crypto sector into two camps: "strategic reservists" (like Strategy), betting solely on the rise of digital gold, and "infrastructure operators" moving into AI. For miners, the key metric will not be the number of coins mined, but the volume of contracts signed for computing capacity leasing. The goal of 70-80% of revenue from AI, set by industry leaders, looks achievable, which will support their stock prices even if Bitcoin moves sideways.
For Strategy, the intrigue lies in whether it can service its debts when the market value of its BTC reserves only slightly exceeds the average purchase price of $75,537. Coinbase, meanwhile, must prove that its bet on revenue diversification (stablecoins, subscriptions, layer-2 network Base) can offset the double-digit decline in fee income. Weak operating results without a convincing forecast for the second quarter could trigger a wave of profit-taking across the spectrum of risk assets.
— Editorial Team
