Shares of several Bitcoin mining and AI data-center operators jumped as much as 27% on Thursday after reports that Situational Awareness, the hedge fund founded by Leopold Aschenbrenner, had liquidated its public-equity portfolio to meet margin requirements and that Citadel acquired most of the stock block.
IREN led the group around midday with a 27% gain. CleanSpark, Core Scientific, Riot Platforms, Bitdeer and HIVE Digital were each up roughly 20% or more. The sharp rebound followed weeks of declines among crypto-linked miners and companies pitching their power capacity and data centers to artificial-intelligence customers.
The reported sale has drawn attention because Situational Awareness’ latest disclosed holdings covered a concentrated group of businesses sitting at the intersection of Bitcoin mining and AI computing infrastructure. A large seller leaving those positions could have added pressure to already volatile stocks. Reports that Citadel absorbed much of the portfolio instead gave the market a major buyer for shares that might otherwise have been sold more gradually.
Citadel’s reported purchase does not establish a long-term view on any individual company, but it would have removed a sizeable source of immediate supply from the market. Thursday’s gains also suggest some traders had positioned for a more disorderly liquidation and reassessed those expectations once a buyer emerged.
March filing showed more than $1 billion in mining and data-center stocks
Situational Awareness’ most recent Form 13F, dated March 31, listed holdings in all six companies that rallied Thursday. Based on the share counts reported in that filing and the values disclosed at the time, the portfolio’s positions in the six miners and infrastructure companies exceeded $1 billion.
IREN was the fund’s largest disclosed position within the group. The filing listed nearly 11.7 million shares, valued at more than $400 million. Core Scientific ranked close behind, with 26 million shares carrying a reported value of about $390 million.
The filing also showed 11.5 million Riot Platforms shares, valued at $142 million, and approximately 12.3 million CleanSpark shares valued at $104 million. Situational Awareness held more than 3.4 million Bitdeer shares with a reported value of $29.8 million, along with 3.4 million HIVE Digital shares valued at $6.4 million.
A 13F filing reports a fund’s U.S.-listed long positions at the end of a quarter and does not provide a real-time view of holdings, hedges, short positions or subsequent transactions. The filing therefore offers a picture of the fund’s previously disclosed exposure rather than a precise account of the shares sold in the reported liquidation.
The portfolio also had meaningful exposure to CoreWeave, a cloud-computing company closely tied to AI demand. Its March filing listed more than 7 million CoreWeave shares valued at $556 million, plus call options representing 1.8 million underlying shares with a reported notional value of $140 million. That concentration placed the fund heavily in a trade centered on computing capacity, electricity access and the infrastructure required to run AI workloads.
Miners are increasingly valued on power capacity
The market response reflects a changing way public Bitcoin miners are being assessed. Mining revenue remains tied to Bitcoin’s price, network difficulty and transaction-fee conditions, but operators with substantial power contracts, land and high-capacity electrical infrastructure have increasingly sought to market those assets for AI and high-performance computing.
Core Scientific has been among the clearest examples of that transition, building a relationship with CoreWeave to host AI computing equipment. IREN has also expanded its AI cloud ambitions while continuing to operate Bitcoin mining facilities. CleanSpark, Riot, Bitdeer and HIVE have each faced the same strategic question: whether their energy sites should remain dedicated to mining or be adapted for other forms of computing that may offer steadier contracted revenue.
That option has become more valuable as Bitcoin’s network computing power has risen. A higher network hash rate means miners collectively deploy more computing capacity to compete for the same scheduled block rewards, increasing pressure on operators with less efficient machines or higher energy costs. Companies with modern fleets, flexible power arrangements and developable sites can be better positioned to manage periods when mining economics tighten.
Converting mining capacity to AI hosting is not automatic. Data-center customers typically require reliable power delivery, cooling systems, fiber connectivity, equipment financing and long-term operating commitments. A site built for Bitcoin mining may need substantial upgrades before it can support dense AI server racks. The potential payoff is substantial, but so are the capital requirements and execution risks.
A volatile trade gets a new institutional signal
Thursday’s rally did not erase those operational challenges, and the companies involved remain exposed to Bitcoin-market swings, electricity costs and financing conditions. Many have also traded sharply in response to AI-related announcements, often before new facilities generate material revenue.
Yet the reported transaction changes the immediate trading backdrop. A forced seller is generally a risk for a concentrated group of volatile shares because liquidation can push prices lower regardless of a company’s operations. If Citadel did purchase most of the block, the transaction would have transferred that supply overhang to a buyer able to hold or trade the shares without the same disclosed margin pressure.
The episode also places renewed focus on the assets beneath the mining labels: power agreements, grid connections, development rights, data-center capacity and the ability to secure customers. Block rewards will remain central to the companies’ near-term earnings, but the strongest valuations in the group are increasingly tied to whether miners can turn electricity access into durable computing revenue.
Understand how market corrections shape bitcoin miners’ outlook and refine your next trading move.
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