Bitcoin miner stocks have performed noticeably stronger than BTC itself this year. According to 10x Research, a basket of crypto companies has grown by 56% since the beginning of 2026, while bitcoin over the same period fell by about 17%.
Last week, the gap became even more pronounced. BTC declined due to rising yields on U.S. Treasury bonds and expectations of a tougher stance from the Fed, while miner stocks, which are actively moving into AI infrastructure, continued to rise.
Bitcoin and 10-Year U.S. Treasury Yield Performance. Source: TradingView
Several news items contributed to the growth: GPU deals, leasing of large sites, data center acquisitions, and new plans for AI capacity deployment. All this shows that miners are quickly moving away from the old model where their main business was only bitcoin mining.
Now the market sees them differently: not just as crypto companies, but as owners of energy, land, and infrastructure that could be useful to major AI clients.
Mining companies are emerging as leaders amid the AI infrastructure investment boom. Source: 10x Research/X
1. KEEL Infrastructure (KEEL), +30%
KEEL Infrastructure, formerly known as Bitfarms, saw the biggest increase over the week. Shares rose after Chardan initiated coverage with a Buy recommendation.
KEEL is now restructuring its business around its energy base. The company has 2.2 GW of capacity in Pennsylvania, Washington, and Quebec. All of this is now intended not only for mining, but also for AI workloads and high-performance computing.
This is an important moment for the market. The more miners show they can work with AI infrastructure, the less they are seen as companies fully tied to the price of bitcoin.
2. Cipher Mining (CIFR), +29%
Cipher Mining was also among the leaders. Shares gained 29% amid interest from institutional investors and expectations of new large data center deals.
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Cipher’s main asset is its energy infrastructure in Texas. For AI projects, access to electricity is now one of the key factors, so companies with such sites are getting more and more attention.
Analysts also note Cipher’s balance. The company has resources for expansion, which means the market expects new agreements with major cloud and technology clients.
3. IREN (IREN), +29%
IREN rose after a major deal with Dell. On May 26, the company signed a $1.6 billion agreement to purchase GPU systems Blackwell from Nvidia.
This equipment is needed for a five-year contract for cloud AI services worth $3.4 billion.
The launch of the capacity is planned for early 2027. The main site will be the IREN campus in Childress, Texas.
The company expects that after the launch, annual revenue based on the current business volume will rise from $3.7 billion to about $4.4 billion.
For investors, this is further confirmation that IREN is gradually transforming from a bitcoin miner into a provider of computing infrastructure for the AI market.
4. TeraWulf (WULF), +24%
TeraWulf added 24% after announcing the purchase of the Muskie Data Campus in eastern Kentucky. The site covers 285 acres.
The company expects the site to support up to 1 GW of capacity. The first 500 MW are planned to be launched by the end of 2028.
This purchase expands TeraWulf’s AI direction beyond its existing Lake Mariner and Abernathy sites.
The market sees such deals as an attempt to secure a foothold in the data center segment before demand for AI capacity rises even higher.
5. Hut 8 (HUT), +22%
Hut 8 rounded out the top five. The company signed a 15-year lease agreement for the Beacon Point campus in Nueces County, Texas. The deal is valued at $9.8 billion.
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The site’s capacity is 352 MW. The campus was designed for NVIDIA DSX architecture, which is used for large AI clusters and high-performance computing.
After this deal, Hut 8’s contracted AI capacity grew to about 597 MW.
The company is also continuing to develop infrastructure in Louisiana, Texas, and Illinois.
According to 10x Research, the Hut 8 deal clearly demonstrates the overall trend: bitcoin miners are rapidly turning into data center and AI infrastructure operators.
Why Bitcoin Has Lagged Behind Miners
On Thursday, bitcoin was trading around $73,367. Over the week, it lost nearly 5%.
Bitcoin (BTC) price performance. Source: TradingView
Pressure also increased from ETFs. Money continued to flow out of BlackRock IBIT, showing that some investors are temporarily moving away from a passive bet on BTC.
Against this backdrop, capital is increasingly looking toward miners, who have real contracts, energy capacity, and a chance to profit from the AI boom.
Macroeconomics also remains an important factor. The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds is around 4.47–4.50%, and the market is waiting for PCE inflation data.
The next important milestone is the Fed meeting on June 16–17. Its outcome will determine whether miner stocks continue to rise in the summer or if the market starts to take profits again.
