The recent sell-off among $BTC (-3.32%)miners was driven less by Bitcoin than by AI. Since the hash price has barely recovered, the miners’ growth now depends on AI hosting. It already accounts for about one-third of revenue and is expected to rise to nearly half by the end of the year once new contracts come online. As a result, stock prices are at the mercy of their tenants’ financial situations: Bonds issued by CoreWeave, Core Scientific’s main tenant, at times yielded over 15 percent—a clear warning sign—despite Nvidia’s existing commitment to purchase unused capacity. Even if CoreWeave is saved, this serves as a warning to other heavily indebted “neoclouds” that have entered into commitments with miners.
Political factors also weighed on the situation. Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa plans to impose a moratorium on new data centers until the state legislature establishes a legal framework—a development that is unlikely to occur before the second half of 2027. This benefits miners who already have permits or have locations outside of Texas. In addition, the Democratic majority in Congress is likely to rein in Trump’s foreign policy, which would ease pressure on oil prices and inflation. And despite the Democrats’ reputation for being critical of crypto, Bitcoin remained stable after the election because regulation by the SEC and CFTC reduces dependence on a crypto-skeptical Congress.
