Bitcoin-mining stocks surge after the cryptocurrency passes $28,000 for the first time

• The bitcoin-mining companies Riot Blockchain and Marathon Patent Group soared on Monday morning as investors anticipate bitcoin's rally will continue into 2021.
• Both mining companies recently announced purchases of more bitcoin-mining equipment. On Monday, Marathon said it would purchase 70,000 miners for $170 million from Bitmain.
• Bitcoin hit a record high on Sunday, jumping past $28,000 for the first time.
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Shares of the bitcoin-mining companies Riot Blockchain and Marathon Patent Group soared on Monday morning following bitcoin's rally over the holiday weekend.

Bitcoin briefly jumped past $28,000 on Sunday, one day after it passed $27,000 for the first time. The cryptocurrency traded at about $27,240 on Monday.

As bitcoin's price increases, bitcoin-mining devices become more difficult and expensive to procure. In recent days, bitcoin-mining companies have announced major purchases of new equipment.

Riot gained as much as 18% shortly after the opening bell on Monday: Shares jumped to as high as $15.49 after closing at $13.12 on Christmas Eve. Marathon jumped as much as 28%, to $14.

Marathon on Monday announced it would purchase 70,000 mining rigs called Antminers from Bitmain for $170 million. Marathon said that once the transaction is complete, it will have a fleet of over 103,000 miners.

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Last week, Riot said it would purchase 15,000 miners, according to The Crypto Report. Riot said the addition would increase the cost efficiency of bitcoin mining and keep it competitive as mining hardware becomes scarcer.

Shares of the microgrid software company CleanSpark gained as much as 16% on Monday as well. Last week, CleanSpark announced that it would add 1,000 bitcoin miners to its fleet.