Might Pure-Play BTC Miners Reprice Alongside the AI and HPC Mining Boom?

Pure-play bitcoin miners rebounded sharply on Thursday, benefiting from bitcoin’s upward momentum and a potential shift of investor capital from AI and high-performance computing (HPC) mining stocks.

MARA and CleanSpark Surge

MARA Holdings (MARA) gained 10%, while CleanSpark (CLSK) jumped 17%, topping the CoinShares Bitcoin Mining ETF for the day. The gains highlight renewed investor interest in miners fully focused on bitcoin, after a period of underperformance compared with data-center-oriented peers.

Bitcoin Nears Record Levels

Bitcoin (BTC) rose 2.2% to approximately $115,700, closing in on its all-time high and now just 5% shy of $118,000, following the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut. Historically, the final months of the year have delivered strong BTC performance, and miners holding large bitcoin balances may be seen as leveraged plays on potential rallies.

MARA and CleanSpark hold 52,477 BTC ($6.2 billion) and 12,703 BTC ($1.5 billion), respectively, while MicroStrategy (MSTR), the largest corporate bitcoin holder, also gained 7% Thursday.

Rotation From AI/HPC Miners

Another factor supporting the rally could be profit rotation from AI and HPC-focused miners, which have posted outsized gains in recent months. Bitfarms (BITF) surged 150% in September, Iren Energy (IREN) climbed over 600% since April, and Cipher Mining (CIFR) advanced 500% over the same period.

Thursday saw some cooling in these high-flyers, with CIFR down 7% and IREN down 4%, suggesting investors are redirecting capital into bitcoin-focused mining operations.