NEW YORK, Jan 3, 2026, 18:09 ET — Market closed
- MARA Holdings closed up 10.2% at $9.91 on Friday, outperforming most U.S.-listed bitcoin miners.
- Bitcoin hovered near $90,000 over the weekend, keeping crypto price action front-and-center for Monday’s reopening in U.S. equities.
- Riot Platforms, CleanSpark and Core Scientific also posted strong gains on Friday, pointing to a sector-wide move rather than a single-stock catalyst.
Shares of MARA Holdings, Inc. closed up 10.2% at $9.91 on Friday, capping a sharp rebound in U.S.-listed bitcoin-mining stocks heading into the first weekend of 2026. Roughly 45.4 million shares changed hands.
The move matters now because bitcoin miners often trade like a leveraged proxy for the cryptocurrency itself, meaning equity swings can be outsized even on modest moves in the coin. With U.S. markets shut for the weekend, any shift in crypto prices can show up as a gap when stocks reopen.
Bitcoin was last up about 0.4% at $90,482 on Saturday, after trading between $89,385 and $90,657 in the prior day’s range.
Riot Platforms gained about 12% on Friday and CleanSpark climbed about 14%, while Core Scientific added nearly 10%. Coinbase Global, a bellwether for crypto-linked equities, rose about 4.6%.
The broader tape was mixed. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust edged up about 0.2% on Friday, while the Invesco QQQ Trust slipped about 0.2%.
Bitcoin miners earn coins by providing computing power to validate transactions on the blockchain. Profitability hinges on the bitcoin price, power costs and competition across the network; changes in any of those can quickly move earnings expectations.
Market technicians continue to frame the next leg for miners around bitcoin’s ability to hold recent gains. “The upside is capped near $90,000-$92,000 until liquidity improves,” Giottus CEO Vikram Subburaj said in commentary carried by The Economic Times. The Economic Times
Before Monday’s session, traders will watch weekend crypto trading for signs of a break above — or rejection from — that zone. Because equities are shut while crypto trades 24/7, miners can open sharply higher or lower if bitcoin moves in thin weekend liquidity.
For MARA, Friday’s range left clear markers: the stock traded between $9.04 and $9.99 and ended just below $10, a round-number level many traders treat as near-term resistance.
The next scheduled catalyst is earnings. Nasdaq’s earnings calendar estimates MARA will report results around Feb. 25, with investors likely focused on bitcoin production trends, power pricing and the company’s balance-sheet stance toward holding or selling bitcoin.
Until then, bitcoin remains the dominant driver. If crypto prices stay firm, miners’ operating leverage can translate small moves in the coin into big moves in the stocks — in both directions.
With the U.S. equity market closed for the weekend, the next test for MARA’s rebound comes when Wall Street reopens on Monday and traders decide whether Friday’s sector rally extends or fades.
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