CLSK vs MARA: How CleanSpark and MARA Holdings Compare (2026)
Last updated July 2026
Short answer
MARA is the larger of the two ($4.02B market cap): the incumbent the market prices for continued execution (-15.51x forward earnings, beta 5.37). CLSK is the smaller challenger ($3.13B), priced similarly on forward earnings (-10.73x): more room to run, but more to prove. The real question is which set of drivers you believe, and whether owning one (or both) leaves you over-concentrated.
CLSK vs MARA: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of July 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.
| Metric | CLSK | MARA | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $3.13B | $4.02B | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | -10.73 | -15.51 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Beta | 3.84 | 5.37 | Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 27% of range | 23% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
| Price / book | 3.17 | 1.80 | How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price. |
Before you buy: how CLSK and MARA affect your concentration
The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. CLSK and MARA share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.
This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined CLSK and MARA exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
What does CleanSpark (CLSK) do?
CleanSpark is a Las Vegas-based bitcoin mining company that operates data centers, mostly in the southeastern United States, packed with specialized ASIC machines that compete to validate bitcoin transactions and earn newly minted coins plus fees. It makes money primarily by selling some of the bitcoin it mines and by keeping the rest on its balance sheet as a treasury; reported metrics that matter most are operational hash rate (about 50 EH/s as of early 2026), cost to mine each coin (roughly $44,800 in the most recent quarter), and the size of the bitcoin stack it holds (around 13,600 BTC). Because revenue is paid in bitcoin and a chunk of the balance sheet is bitcoin, both the income statement and reported book value swing with the crypto price.
What does MARA Holdings (MARA) do?
MARA Holdings, formerly Marathon Digital, is a vertically integrated bitcoin mining and digital-energy company headquartered in Florida. It runs a large fleet of mining data centers (roughly 1.9 GW of power capacity across 18 sites as of the end of 2025) and produced about 8,799 bitcoin during 2025 at an energized hashrate that reached roughly 72 EH/s by early 2026. The company also holds a large bitcoin treasury, lends some of its coins to third parties for interest income, and has begun diversifying into AI-inference compute and hyperscaler data-center capacity through moves like its majority stake in Exaion and a partnership with Starwood Capital.
CLSK vs MARA: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- CLSK drivers: Scaled, low-cost hash rate; Cheap-power energy footprint.
- MARA drivers: Leveraged bitcoin exposure; Scale and hashrate growth.
Which fits which kind of investor
A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: CLSK carries direct bitcoin price exposure: when bitcoin falls, mining revenue and the treasury both decline, and the stock has historically moved more than bitcoin itself. For MARA, mARA is one of the more volatile large-cap ways to hold bitcoin exposure, and its share price can fall far faster than the coin during downturns.
CLSK or MARA: which should you pick?
Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick CLSK if you believe its drivers more; MARA if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the CLSK and MARA guides.
CLSK vs MARA: the full fundamentals
CLSK. CleanSpark's reported results are tightly correlated with the price of bitcoin: the quarter ended March 2026 showed a large net loss driven mostly by non-cash mark-to-market adjustments on its bitcoin holdings as the coin's average price fell toward the mid-$70,000s. Revenue, margins, and book value can all swing sharply quarter to quarter, so single-period figures say more about bitcoin's level than about a durable trend. These figures are approximate and tied to the asOf date; check the latest filings before relying on them.
MARA. MARA's headline financials are dominated by bitcoin. Revenue growth in recent years tracks the coin's price rather than operating leverage, and the large Q1 2026 net loss came mostly from mark-to-market declines on its bitcoin holdings and receivables. Treasury size has been shrinking through 2026 as the company shifted to selling coins for operating flexibility.
Headline figures (approximate, June 2026): CLSK shows quarterly revenue (fq2 2026) ~$136 million (down ~25% YoY), operational hash rate ~50 EH/s, bitcoin held (treasury) ~13,600 BTC, adjusted ebitda (fq2 2026) ~-$241 million; MARA shows revenue (fy2025) ~$907M, revenue (q1 2026) ~$174.6M (-18% YoY), net loss (q1 2026) ~$1.26B (fair-value driven), bitcoin produced (fy2025) ~8,799 BTC.
The bottom line: CLSK vs MARA
CLSK and MARA are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined CLSK and MARA exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Investing in CleanSpark with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how CLSK fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the difference between CLSK and MARA?
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CleanSpark is a Las Vegas-based bitcoin mining company that operates data centers, mostly in the southeastern United States, packed with specialized ASIC machines that compete to validate bitcoin transactions and earn newly minted coins plus fees. MARA Holdings, formerly Marathon Digital, is a vertically integrated bitcoin mining and digital-energy company headquartered in Florida. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is CLSK or MARA the better stock?
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Neither is universally better. MARA is the larger incumbent; CLSK is the smaller challenger and looks pricier on forward earnings. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, CLSK or MARA?
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On forward P/E (as of July 2026), CLSK trades at -10.73x and MARA at -15.51x, so MARA is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both CLSK and MARA?
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Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of CLSK vs MARA?
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CLSK: CLSK carries direct bitcoin price exposure: when bitcoin falls, mining revenue and the treasury both decline, and the stock has historically moved more than bitcoin itself. Block-reward halvings (the last in 2024) cut the bitcoin paid per block, so miners must keep lowering costs or growing hash rate just to stand still, and rising network difficulty erodes each machine's output. Funding expansion has often meant issuing new shares or debt, diluting existing holders, and recent quarters showed large GAAP losses (a roughly $378 million net loss in the quarter ended March 2026, much of it non-cash bitcoin marks) and negative adjusted EBITDA. Energy-cost spikes, equipment cycles, and shifting US crypto and energy regulation add further uncertainty. MARA: MARA is one of the more volatile large-cap ways to hold bitcoin exposure, and its share price can fall far faster than the coin during downturns. Reported earnings are heavily distorted by fair-value swings on its treasury, so a single quarter can show a billion-dollar loss driven by accounting rather than cash burn. Mining economics face pressure from rising network difficulty, the post-halving reduction in block rewards, and high electricity and equipment costs. The company has raised capital through convertible debt and equity, which can dilute shareholders, and its newer energy and AI-compute ventures may not scale as hoped. Regulatory and tax treatment of bitcoin mining also remains uncertain.
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Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell CLSK or MARA; figures are approximate and dated (as of July 2026). Verify current data before investing.