Bitcoin Mining Stocks Rise After Microsoft Signs $17.4 Billion GPU Deal

On Tuesday, crypto mining stocks surged following Nebius Group's announcement of a five-year deal to supply Microsoft with $17.4 billion worth of graphic processing units (GPUs). This agreement aims to enhance Microsoft's AI infrastructure and increased interest in companies capable of large-scale computing, including bitcoin miners.

Key highlights include:

Mining shares rose despite bitcoin's decline of about 1% to $111,100.
Bitfarms saw a 22% gain, and Cipher Mining rose by 20%.
Other companies like IREN, Hut 8, Riot Platforms, and TeraWulf experienced mid-teens percentage increases.
MARA Holdings, focusing on bitcoin treasury rather than high-performance computing, only gained 4%.

The market dynamics are shifting as mining profitability is no longer solely tied to bitcoin's halving cycle. Companies face rising power costs, hardware production challenges, and increasing competition. Miners with substantial energy use and advanced infrastructure are looking to lease capacity or pivot towards data center services, emphasizing the growing value of GPU access highlighted by the Nebius-Microsoft deal.