Bitcoin Miners and AI Stocks Surge Amid Shift to High-Growth Contracts
On July 30, 2026, shares of Bitcoin mining and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure companies skyrocketed, with many gaining double-digit percentages. Keel Infrastructure led the pack with a 29.13% jump to $4.10 per share, followed closely by Nebius Group N.V., which added 28.52%. This surge is attributed in part to Citadel absorbing the liquidated stock positions of a hedge fund founded by a former OpenAI researcher.
The hedge fund's liquidation removed potential selling pressure from the market, allowing these companies to rise. Bitcoin itself traded above $64,000 during this time, providing some lift to mining stocks that still rely on cryptocurrency prices for revenue. However, an increasing share of their income now comes from AI computing contracts.
Microsoft's earnings report also played a role in the rally, as its AI spending started generating returns, boosting sentiment across the Nasdaq and pulling AI infrastructure names higher. Coreweave announced a significant deal with Leidos to provide AI cloud services for the U.S. Intelligence Community and the Department of War.
This trend is part of a larger shift in the industry. As mining profits shrank after repeated halvings, publicly traded miners began converting their power-heavy sites into AI data centers. Recent deals suggest this transition is gaining momentum, with Hut 8 signing a $9.8 billion lease for its Texas campus and IREN disclosing $2.8 billion in new AI cloud contracts.