CLSK vs MSTR: How CleanSpark and Strategy Inc Compare (2026)

Last updated July 2026

Short answer

MSTR is the larger of the two ($34.86B market cap): the incumbent the market prices for continued execution (21.39x forward earnings, beta 3.55). 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 MSTR: 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.

MetricCLSKMSTRWhat it tells you
Market cap$3.13B$34.86BSize. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove.
Forward P/E-10.7321.39Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up.
Beta3.843.55Volatility 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 range27% of range4% of rangeWhere 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 / book3.170.90How 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 MSTR 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 MSTR 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 MSTR 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.

Full CLSK guide

What does Strategy Inc (MSTR) do?

Strategy Inc, which traded as MicroStrategy until an August 2025 rebrand, began as an enterprise business-intelligence and analytics software vendor and still sells that software (now branded around its AI-powered Strategy One platform). Since 2020 the company has pivoted almost entirely toward accumulating bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset, funding purchases through convertible notes, several classes of preferred stock (STRK, STRF, STRD, STRC) and at-the-market common equity sales. As of early July 2026 it held roughly 843,000 to 847,000 BTC at an average cost near $66,000 per coin, making it the largest corporate bitcoin holder in the world.

Full MSTR guide

CLSK vs MSTR: 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.
  • MSTR drivers: Leveraged bitcoin exposure; Capital-markets machine.

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 MSTR, the overwhelming risk is bitcoin price: a large drawdown in BTC would hit both the asset value and the leveraged equity far harder, and the company reported a roughly $14.5 billion non-cash unrealized bitcoin loss in Q1 2026.

CLSK or MSTR: 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; MSTR 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 MSTR guides.

CLSK vs MSTR: 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.

MSTR. Traditional earnings multiples do not describe Strategy well because quarterly results are dominated by non-cash bitcoin mark-to-market swings, such as the roughly $14.5 billion unrealized loss reported in Q1 2026. Investors instead watch the market value of its bitcoin, the mNAV premium or discount to those coins, and the size of the debt and preferred obligations. In mid-2026 the premium compressed toward or below the value of the underlying bitcoin.

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; MSTR shows bitcoin held ~843,000-847,000 BTC, avg btc cost basis ~$66,000 per coin (~$33.1B total), btc holdings value ~$54B, software revenue (quarterly) ~$124M (Q1 2026, +12% YoY).

The bottom line: CLSK vs MSTR

CLSK and MSTR 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 MSTR 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 MSTR?

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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. Strategy Inc, which traded as MicroStrategy until an August 2025 rebrand, began as an enterprise business-intelligence and analytics software vendor and still sells that software (now branded around its AI-powered Strategy One platform). 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 MSTR the better stock?

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Neither is universally better. MSTR is the larger incumbent; CLSK is the smaller challenger and looks cheaper 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 MSTR?

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On forward P/E (as of July 2026), CLSK trades at -10.73x and MSTR at 21.39x, so CLSK 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 MSTR?

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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 MSTR?

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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. MSTR: The overwhelming risk is bitcoin price: a large drawdown in BTC would hit both the asset value and the leveraged equity far harder, and the company reported a roughly $14.5 billion non-cash unrealized bitcoin loss in Q1 2026. The debt and preferred stack carries interest and dividend obligations that must be serviced regardless of bitcoin's price, and the company has at times sold small amounts of BTC to meet preferred dividends. The mNAV premium can collapse, removing the accretive-issuance advantage and pressuring the share price independently of bitcoin. Heavy reliance on continual capital raises means dilution and refinancing risk, and the software business is too small to offset a serious digital-asset decline.

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Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell CLSK or MSTR; figures are approximate and dated (as of July 2026). Verify current data before investing.

    CLSK vs MSTR: How CleanSpark and Strategy Inc Compare (2026), Walnut