bitcoin Miners are expanding their profits in pre-market operations as the rise of artificial intelligence and high-performance computing (AI/HPC) accelerates, particularly benefiting those who direct their operations towards AI infrastructure.
IREN (IREN) is up 4% to $66 after a 6% rise on Thursday, now up more than 520% ​​year-to-date. TerraWulf (WULF) is 5% higher premarket after a 10% rise on Thursday, bringing its year-to-date gain to 150%. Other notable movers include Cipher Mining (CIFR), CleanSpark (CLSK), and Bitfarms (BITF), which are trading 2% to 4% higher in the pre-market.
The total market capitalization of miners is approaching $90 billion, according to data from Farside, and with this current trend it could exceed $100 billion by the end of the year if the current momentum continues.
The sector is also benefiting from broader trends: Bloomberg reported that Microsoft’s (MSFT) data center shortage will persist through 2026 due to growing demand for cloud and artificial intelligence.
Despite adding up to two gigawatts of new capacity, Microsoft is still struggling to scale infrastructure fast enough to meet demand. As growing demand for high-performance infrastructure continues, this is increasing optimism around bitcoin miners’ expansion into artificial intelligence and data centers.
