Cryptocurrency-related stocks took a hit on Wednesday, with high-flying bitcoin miners with artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure hit the hardest.
Bitfarms (BITF), Cipher Mining (CIFR), Hut 8 (HUT) and fell between 10% and 15% in the first hours of the session. Galaxy (GLXY), the digital asset investment company with a growing data center operation, was beaten 15% more than erasing all of its gains after Tuesday’s earnings report.
The CoinShares Bitcoin Mining ETF (WGMI), a sector indicator, was down 7%.
Cryptocurrency stocks outside of mining were not spared either. Bakkt Holdings (BKKT), which rose more than 300% earlier this month, sank another 7.5% and is now down almost 40% in a week. Strategy (MSTR), the world’s largest corporate bitcoin holder, fell 4% to below $290.
A check of other names like Coinbase (COIN), Robinhood (HOOD), Bullish (BLSH), and Gemini finds steeper losses in the 5% to 6% range.
Although still holding in the $108,000 area, bitcoin remained considerably lower after touching $114,000 on Tuesday. On Wall Street, the Nasdaq was down 1%, with chipmakers particularly hard hit.
BTC Miners’ AI Trading Cools Down
BTC miners’ sharp decline suggests their multi-month rally, fueled by investor optimism for lucrative data center deals, fizzled out as markets turned away from risk.
At the height of the AI and high-performance computing bull market, the combined market capitalization of related companies exceeded $95 billion. It has since declined to around $82 billion, according to Farside data.
Bitfarms (BITF) is up more than 400% since September, but has since fallen around 40%, now trading just above $4 per share. IREN (IREN), which is up about 400% so far this year and 200% since September, is down about 30% from its all-time high of $73 and is currently trading near $52.
