Bitcoin miners rally 13% as AI hosting demand decouples from BTC price

Bitcoin mining stocks surged Monday even as the largest cryptocurrency slipped, as investors priced in a structural shift toward AI data-center hosting revenue.

Bitcoin fell 1.2% to $62,900 by 14:30 UTC Monday after Strategy disclosed the sale of 3,588 BTC for $216 million, while mining stocks jumped as much as 13% on AI infrastructure deals that are reshaping how the market values the sector.

"The market is starting to value miners for their power access and hosting contracts rather than just their bitcoin production," Jaran Mellerud, chief mining analyst at Hashrate Index, said.

TeraWulf (WULF) led the sector higher, gaining 13% after announcing a 20-year, $19 billion lease with AI company Anthropic for its 400-megawatt Kentucky data center, with first power expected in the second half of 2027. IREN (IREN) rose 13%, Hut 8 (HUT) added 10.5%, and Cipher Mining (CIFR) gained 9.5%. Bitcoin, by contrast, recovered from an early dip to $61,900 to trade at $62,900, still below its weekend high near $64,000.

The divergence signals a potential decoupling of mining stocks from bitcoin's price — a shift that could sustain miner valuations even if BTC remains range-bound between $58,000 and $64,000, where it has traded for most of the past month. Nine months after bitcoin's all-time high of $126,000 in October, the cryptocurrency has corrected roughly 50%, while miners with AI exposure are attracting a new class of infrastructure investors.

Strategy's $216 million sale tests market resilience

Strategy sold the 3,588 BTC in two tranches: 1,363 tokens at an average price of $59,256 between June 29 and 30, and 2,225 tokens at $60,773 between July 1 and 5, according to its SEC filing. Proceeds will fund preferred shareholder dividends and replenish operational cash. The company also disclosed an $8.32 billion impairment on digital assets for the quarter ended June 30, reflecting bitcoin's decline from roughly $68,000 to $60,000 during the period.

Unlike the company's initial sale of 32 bitcoin in late May — which triggered a panic-driven selloff that pushed BTC from $74,000 to $60,000 — Monday's larger sale produced only a brief dip. Bitcoin bounced back within hours, supported by $265.7 million in net inflows across US spot bitcoin ETFs, with BlackRock's IBIT alone drawing $209.4 million, its first positive session after weeks of outflows.

ETF flows and macro tailwinds

The ETF inflows coincided with President Trump calling himself a "big crypto guy" during a White House event, though bitcoin bulls noted the administration has delivered little on its promised Strategic Bitcoin Reserve since Trump took office in January. Bitcoin's funding rate remained positive at $20.6 billion in open interest, suggesting leveraged long positions stayed intact despite the Strategy news.

The July 14 US consumer price index release is the next catalyst that could extend the relief rally or cap further gains, after a weaker-than-expected June jobs report boosted rate-cut expectations and lifted liquidity-sensitive assets over the weekend.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.