HIVE vs MARA: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?
Last updated August 2026
Short answer
MARA is the larger of the two ($4.32B market cap): the incumbent the market prices for continued execution (-16.65x forward earnings, beta 5.37). HIVE is the smaller challenger ($774.40M), priced similarly on forward earnings (188.67x): 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.
HIVE vs MARA: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 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 | HIVE | MARA | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $774.40M | $4.32B | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | 188.67 | -16.65 | 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 | 3.72 | 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 | 18% of range | 28% 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 | 1.39 | 1.93 | 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 HIVE 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. HIVE 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 HIVE 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 HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd (HIVE) do?
HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd. is one of the earliest publicly listed digital-asset miners, founded in 2017 and marketing itself as a green-energy-powered operator. It builds and runs data centers across Canada, Sweden, and Paraguay that serve both Bitcoin mining and, increasingly, high-performance computing (HPC) and AI clients. Its revenue comes mainly from mining Bitcoin, which it either sells or holds on its balance sheet, so the top line rises and falls with both the amount of Bitcoin it mines (its hashrate) and the price of Bitcoin itself.
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.
HIVE 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.
- HIVE drivers: Bitcoin price and mining economics; Hashrate expansion.
- 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: The dominant risk is Bitcoin price volatility: because revenue and the value of held coins track the crypto market, a sharp Bitcoin decline can quickly turn a profitable quarter into a large loss. 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.
HIVE 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 HIVE 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 HIVE and MARA guides.
HIVE vs MARA: the full fundamentals
HIVE. Figures are approximate and tied to the asOf date; verify live numbers before acting. For a Bitcoin miner, traditional earnings multiples mean little because results swing with the crypto cycle, coin holdings are marked to a volatile price, and heavy depreciation distorts reported profit. What matters more is hashrate growth, cost of power, Bitcoin price, and progress on the AI and HPC pivot. This is a speculative stock and its valuation reflects sentiment on crypto and AI as much as company fundamentals.
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, Jul 2026): HIVE shows revenue trajectory Full-year revenue around $297.8 million, up sharply (roughly 158%) on higher hashrate, profitability Large net loss reported (around negative $145 million) despite revenue growth, bitcoin mining scale Hashrate expanded from about 6.5 EH/s to above 25 EH/s, ai / hpc revenue Contracted high-performance-computing recurring revenue in the tens of millions; 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: HIVE vs MARA
HIVE 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 HIVE and MARA exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how HIVE or MARA fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how HIVE 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 HIVE and MARA?
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HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd. 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 HIVE or MARA the better stock?
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Neither is universally better. MARA is the larger incumbent; HIVE 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, HIVE or MARA?
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On forward P/E (as of August 2026), HIVE trades at 188.67x and MARA at -16.65x, 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 HIVE 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 HIVE vs MARA?
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HIVE: The dominant risk is Bitcoin price volatility: because revenue and the value of held coins track the crypto market, a sharp Bitcoin decline can quickly turn a profitable quarter into a large loss. The roughly-every-four-years halving cuts mining rewards and can pressure all miners at once. HIVE has reported large net losses even amid revenue growth, a reminder that scaling mining and AI capacity is capital-intensive and can burn cash. The AI and HPC pivot adds execution risk: winning and retaining data-center customers is a new, competitive business against far larger cloud providers. Rising network difficulty, energy-cost swings, equipment obsolescence, potential share dilution to fund expansion, and evolving crypto regulation all add further uncertainty. This is a speculative small-cap stock that can move violently on crypto and macro news. 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 HIVE or MARA; figures are approximate and dated (as of August 2026). Verify current data before investing.