Bitcoin Mining Stocks Diverge from BTC as AI Contracts Gain Prominence

The crypto market has seen a significant shift in correlation between Bitcoin mining stocks and BTC itself. According to Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee's ranking of 17 crypto-linked large-cap equities, only Strategy showed a strong 78% correlation with Bitcoin over the past 90 days.

Other prominent miners such as Core Scientific, Cipher Mining, TeraWulf, and Hut 8 had much lower correlations: 16%, 17%, 18%, and 19%, respectively. BitMine Immersion Technologies, which Lee chairs, topped the Ethereum side with an 80% correlation, followed by Coinbase at 74%.

The weakening correlation is not just a statistical phenomenon; it's also reflected in miners' financial statements. Core Scientific generated $164.2 million in revenue for its second quarter, with only $21.5 million coming from self-mining. Instead, the company is focusing on colocation and AI contracts.

TeraWulf has also made the transition, with first-quarter HPC lease revenue reaching $21 million compared to just $13 million from digital assets. IREN, while still generating more revenue from Bitcoin mining, sees AI cloud services as its strategic growth focus.