Several publicly traded Bitcoin miners have enjoyed sharp stock re-ratings after pivoting toward AI infrastructure, but investors are increasingly questioning whether insiders and major shareholders capitalized on the rally before the sector cooled, raising fresh governance concerns, according to Blocksbridge Consulting.

In its latest Miner Weekly newsletter, Blocksbridge said the AI narrative helped lift valuations for several Bitcoin mining companies as they repositioned operations around data centers, power infrastructure and hyperscaler partnerships. However, sentiment has since weakened, with AI and chip stocks pulling back. The TEM AI Infrastructure Growth Index, which tracks Bitcoin miners, artificial intelligence cloud providers, power suppliers and other AI infrastructure companies, has decline 16% over the past month.

That shift has brought insider transactions into sharper focus. Executives at TeraWulf, Cipher Digital, Riot Platforms and Core Scientific have disclosed stock sales, many of them executed under prearranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plans. While such plans are common and designed to avoid conflicts around nonpublic information, the sales have attracted greater scrutiny as AI-related stocks have retreated, Blocksbridge said.

The trend extends beyond company executives. Strategic investors have also reduced their exposure, including stablecoin issuer Tether, which trimmed its stake in Bitdeer after the company’s AI-driven rebound.

According to Blocksbridge, investors are increasingly shifting their attention from the AI growth narrative to questions around governance and whether the benefits of the tech transition will ultimately accrue to public shareholders.

Most stocks in the TEM AI Infrastructure Growth Index have declined sharply over the past month. Source: Miner Weekly

Blocksbridge said TeraWulf offers the clearest example because the company remains one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI infrastructure transition. CEO Paul Prager and Beowulf E&D Holdings, an entity he manages, sold roughly 1.59 million WULF shares before the company on Monday announced a 20-year AI infrastructure lease with AI developer Anthropic, a deal widely viewed as a major validation of its AI strategy.

Related: SBI Crypto shuts Bitcoin mining pool after 5-year run

AI spending raises questions about long-term returns

Many Bitcoin miners have pivoted toward AI data centers as mining economics have become increasingly challenging, particularly after Bitcoin’s 2024 halving squeezed industry margins. However, the artificial intelligence trade has also become more crowded, with companies facing growing pressure from investors to justify heavy infrastructure spending amid uncertain returns.

A report published by Deloitte in October described AI as a “paradox of rising investment and elusive returns,” noting that many organizations expect AI investments to take longer than anticipated to generate meaningful value.

Separate research by Teneo, based on a survey of more than 350 public company CEOs, found that fewer than half of artificial intelligence initiatives have delivered returns exceeding their costs.

Corporate AI spending is expected to increase significantly despite modest returns on investment. Source: Deloitte

Despite those challenges, companies continue to invest aggressively in AI infrastructure, betting that long-term demand for compute capacity will outweigh near-term concerns over profitability.

Bitcoin miners, with access to large-scale power and existing data center infrastructure, are positioning themselves to capture that opportunity.

Related: Trumps’ American Bitcoin sinks 8.4% ahead of reverse stock split to stay listed

Bitdeer Technologies has unveiled a $36 million manufacturing facility in Nevada, bringing production of its SEALMINER Bitcoin mining machines to the United States.

According to Bitdeer, the new plant in Sparks, Nevada, will manufacture key components for the company’s SEALMINER mining rigs, with commercial production scheduled to begin before the end of 2026. The company said the facility will strengthen its manufacturing capacity inside the United States while reducing its dependence on outside suppliers for critical mining equipment.

Shares of Bitdeer responded positively to the announcement, climbing 14.1% on Thursday to $14.33. Even after the rally, the stock remains about 27% below its June peak, although it has gained roughly 26% since the beginning of the year.

Nevada incentives support local manufacturing expansion

Details released by Bitdeer show the Singapore-based company worked with Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo’s administration and local officials before selecting Sparks for the project. According to comments made by Bitdeer CEO Catherine Guo to local media, the state approved tax incentives, including reduced qualifying sales taxes, as part of the investment package supporting the facility.

Commercial production is expected to begin by year-end, allowing Bitdeer to manufacture more of its mining hardware domestically instead of relying as heavily on third-party suppliers. The company said the plant will focus specifically on Bitcoin mining equipment rather than artificial intelligence hardware.

Although the new factory centers on mining machines, Bitdeer has also expanded into AI cloud computing and high-performance computing services in recent years. According to the company, those businesses will continue separately from the Nevada manufacturing operation.

Bitcoin miners continue adding AI businesses

Across the industry, publicly traded Bitcoin miners are investing beyond cryptocurrency mining as they seek additional revenue from power-intensive computing businesses.

MARA Holdings announced on Thursday that it plans to acquire a Texas site capable of supporting up to 2 gigawatts of capacity for AI and digital infrastructure projects. The company said the expansion will increase its ability to serve artificial intelligence workloads alongside its existing mining operations.

Earlier in the week, TeraWulf announced a 20-year data center lease agreement with AI startup Anthropic. According to TeraWulf, the contract could generate about $19 billion in revenue over its lifetime, highlighting the growing interest among mining companies in long-term AI infrastructure deals.

While several competitors are directing more resources toward AI data centers, Bitdeer continues expanding both its mining operations and supporting infrastructure. The Nevada facility adds manufacturing to that strategy by giving the company greater control over the production of its own mining hardware.

Separately, Bitdeer’s latest production update showed the company mined 921 Bitcoin during May. According to Bitdeer, the figure represents a 370% increase compared with the same month a year earlier, underscoring the rapid growth of its mining business as it adds new infrastructure and equipment.

The combination of higher Bitcoin production and domestic manufacturing comes as mining companies continue adjusting their business models after the latest Bitcoin halving. While many firms are pursuing AI-related contracts to diversify earnings, Bitdeer’s latest investment keeps its manufacturing expansion closely tied to its core Bitcoin mining business while increasing its presence in the United States.

Crypto wallet provider Phantom and the Hyperliquid Policy Center have urged the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to exempt blockchain protocol developers and non-custodial wallet providers from regulations designed for traditional financial intermediaries.

In response to a CFTC request for information on regulations affecting fintech firms, the companies asked the agency to confirm that blockchain protocol developers do not have to register solely for creating onchain software, issue guidance allowing regulated derivatives firms to use blockchain infrastructure, and codify exemptions preventing non-custodial wallet providers from being treated as introducing brokers.

The companies argued that existing CFTC regulations were designed for custodial financial intermediaries that hold customer assets and process trades, while onchain protocols allow users to transact directly without intermediaries controlling funds or executing orders.

Letter to the CFTC. Source: Hyperliquidpolicy.org

They said registration requirements should apply to entities that handle customer funds or execute trades, rather than to developers who create blockchain software or contribute to open-source protocols without controlling how the software is used.

The groups also asked the CFTC to clarify that registered derivatives exchanges, clearinghouses and intermediaries can use onchain infrastructure for functions including trade execution, clearing, settlement, margining and recordkeeping, provided they continue to comply with existing regulations.

The groups said the alternative to adopting the recommendations is the status quo, in which “American users continue to be walled off from onchain derivatives markets,” while innovation continues to take place offshore.

Related: Can AI drain DeFi? Separating Claude Mythos hype from reality

Regulatory debate over onchain derivatives intensifies

The letter comes as crypto companies and traditional exchanges press US regulators over how blockchain-based derivatives should be regulated, with both sides seeking greater clarity on the agency’s approach.

In May, Intercontinental Exchange and CME Group reportedly urged regulators to scrutinize Hyperliquid’s expansion into commodity-linked perpetual futures, arguing that the decentralized platform’s energy derivatives posed market integrity and manipulation risks.

Two weeks later, ICE CEO Jeffrey Sprecher called for a “level playing field” that would allow regulated exchanges to offer 24/7 onchain perpetual futures, saying existing regulations were preventing traditional exchanges from competing with platforms such as Hyperliquid. Sprecher also said ICE had held exploratory discussions with Hyperliquid to better understand onchain derivatives markets.

CME, meanwhile, has continued expanding its own regulated crypto derivatives business. This year, the exchange announced futures tied to Avalanche and Sui, launched CFTC-regulated Bitcoin volatility futures and introduced the Nasdaq CME Crypto Index futures, a market-cap weighted contract tracking seven digital assets.

Despite that expansion, CME sued the CFTC in June over the agency’s approval of crypto perpetual futures, arguing the regulator exceeded its authority under the Commodity Exchange Act.

Magazine: The 5 types of real world assets being tokenized fastest onchain

White House officials claimed that they had “not received names” in response to requests to Senate Democrats for potential commissioners to two US financial regulatory agencies.

In a Thursday letter to US Senate majority leader John Thune and minority leader Chuck Schumer, White House officials said that they had already solicited names from Senate Democrats for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The leadership panels of both financial agencies are understaffed, with only Republican members nominated and confirmed by the Senate.

The letter came in response to a June 10 request from 12 Senate Democrats over staffing concerns at US federal agencies, including the SEC and CFTC. Although US President Donald Trump has put forward some Democratic names for positions at agencies, including the National Labor Relations Board and International Trade Commission, many lawmakers have expressed concerns about the financial regulators being understaffed with crypto market structure legislation pending.

As of Thursday, the SEC had two vacant Democratic seats with three Republican commissioners, one of whom, Hester Peirce, was expected to leave by November. The CFTC chair and sole commissioner was Republican Michael Selig, who, in his seven months on the job, has been outspoken about defending what he called the agency’s “exclusive jurisdiction” over prediction market companies.

Related: Wyden urges Senate leaders to keep dev protections in crypto bill

“In a sharp break from precedent across Republican and Democratic administrations, you have refused in almost every instance to engage with Senate Democratic leadership in the normal process of identifying Democratic nominees to fill vacancies on independent agencies,” said the Democratic senators in June. “Instead, the White House appears set on leaving the vast majority of these critical positions open indefinitely.”

Trump had not announced any nominations sent to the Senate since June 24. Cointelegraph reached out to a White House spokesperson for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

CFTC chair says agency could write “all the rules” on digital assets without legislation

With the Senate on state work periods until Monday, there have been reports that some lawmakers are continuing to discuss the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, with Republicans preparing to vote on the bill in July. 

Source: Cynthia Lummis

The digital asset market structure legislation has already faced significant delays since passing the House of Representatives in July 2025, with government shutdowns and debates over ethics provisions in the bill amid Trump’s ties to the crypto industry. While two Senate committees advanced their versions of the bill this year, the legislation still needs some Democratic support to meet the 60-vote threshold in the chamber.

“I do think there’s a little bit of this creep into ethics and other types of extraneous issues and [Democrats are] just derailing this real opportunity to have a bipartisan bill in place,” said Selig in a Wednesday interview with Fox Business, referring to the CLARITY Act. “Otherwise, you end up with regulators like me writing all the rules, and I’m sure all the Democrats would prefer to get something in place that’s bipartisan.”

Magazine: Crypto’s CLARITY Act faces partisan fight over ethics on Senate floor

Bitcoin miner MARA Holdings saw its shares jump in Thursday’s early trading after the company outlined a major plan to build a Texas “digital infrastructure” campus designed to support both AI computing and Bitcoin mining. The move targets access to up to 2 gigawatts (GW) of power—an increasingly scarce input for AI data centers.

According to MARA, the project centers on a 1,200-acre site in Matagorda County, roughly 90 miles southwest of Houston. The company expects initial access to 1 GW of grid capacity by October 2027, with availability potentially rising to 2 GW by April 2028, enabling expansion of high-performance computing alongside mining operations.

Key takeaways

• MARA announced plans for a 1,200-acre Texas site with expected access to 1 GW of grid capacity by October 2027 and up to 2 GW by April 2028.
• The company says the campus is intended to serve both AI/high-performance computing workloads and Bitcoin mining.
• After full energization, the site is projected to more than double MARA’s potential power capacity to about 4.8 GW.
• HIF USA is set to retain a minority stake if MARA leases with a high-performance computing tenant, and neither party disclosed financial terms.
• MARA’s broader push follows earlier acquisitions, including a 505-megawatt power plant and a co-located Ohio data center deal.

A power-heavy bet on AI computing

MARA’s announcement frames the Texas campus as an infrastructure play rather than a straight mining expansion. The company described development as a “digital infrastructure campus” that can host high-performance computing capacity while also supporting Bitcoin mining once the site is fully operational.

The early-stage development plan hinges on grid access. MARA said it expects 1 GW of grid capacity by October 2027 and up to 2 GW by April 2028. If and when the project reaches full energization, it is expected to more than double MARA’s potential power capacity to around 4.8 GW.

In separate reporting on its share performance, the news also notes that MARA said the project remains subject to regulatory approvals. The company indicated construction would be phased over multiple years.

Ownership structure and leasing dependency

The project includes a relationship with HIF USA. Under the terms MARA described, HIF USA will retain a minority ownership stake if MARA signs a lease with a high-performance computing tenant.

The companies did not disclose transaction financial terms. For investors, the key variable is the leasing plan: the minority-stake condition tied to HPC tenants highlights how MARA’s AI-collocation thesis depends on securing counterparties willing to commit to capacity on the timeline needed for data center development.

How miners are repositioning toward AI and HPC

The strategy fits a broader trend in crypto infrastructure. As demand for data center capacity has surged, some Bitcoin miners have begun expanding into AI and high-performance computing rather than relying solely on mining hardware.

Instead of repurposing chips and racks built specifically for mining, these companies aim to leverage power assets already designed for crypto operations—such as grid connections, substations, and energized sites. The rationale is straightforward: AI workloads require far higher and more reliable power delivery than many mining facilities were originally built to support.

CoinShares has estimated that mining infrastructure typically costs about $700,000 to $1 million per megawatt, while liquid-cooled AI infrastructure can range from $8 million to $15 million per megawatt for hyperscale-grade requirements. These figures underline why conversions can be expensive—particularly because AI customers typically expect higher power density and uptime.

Even with the costs, multiple publicly traded miners have recently announced large AI-oriented deals. CoinShares cited expansions and lease agreements across the sector, including hosting and data center arrangements that tie miner-hosted infrastructure to AI compute demand.

MARA’s expansion stack: from power generation to computing campuses

MARA’s Texas plan follows earlier steps to strengthen its power and compute footprint. In April, the company announced it would acquire Long Ridge Energy & Power, a transaction reported at roughly $1.5 billion. That deal included a 505-megawatt gas-fired power plant and a co-located data center in Ohio.

Earlier this year, MARA also disclosed that it acquired a 64% stake in French computing infrastructure operator Exaion. Taken together, the acquisitions and the new Texas site suggest a continued shift toward owning or controlling the energy and infrastructure needed to support both mining and high-performance computing.

From a market perspective, the timing also matters. Many AI buildouts are constrained by permitting, grid interconnection, and power availability—areas where miners that already operate or plan energy-heavy facilities may attempt to move faster than purely new data center developers.

Sector positioning and what investors will watch next

MARA is described as the fourth-largest publicly traded corporate holder of Bitcoin by BitcoinTreasuries.NET data, holding 36,303 BTC. The company is also noted as the sixth-largest holding in the CoinShares Bitcoin Mining ETF, where it accounts for 4.76% of assets based on Yahoo Finance figures.

For the next phase of this story, the most important uncertainties are regulatory approvals and the pace of phased construction toward the stated grid milestones. Investors and operators will likely focus on whether MARA secures high-performance computing tenants early enough to align leases with the planned power ramp-up—especially since the ownership treatment with HIF USA is tied to signing such agreements.

Shares of Bitdeer Technologies Group rose on Thursday after the Bitcoin (BTC) mining infrastructure company announced a $36 million manufacturing facility in Nevada, a move that expands its US production capacity and could reduce its reliance on third-party suppliers for mining hardware.

Bitdeer climbed 14.1% to $14.33, fully recovering from a selloff earlier in the week. Despite Thursday’s rally, the stock remains roughly 27% below its June high but is up 26% year-to-date.

The gains followed Bitdeer’s announcement that it will build a manufacturing facility in Sparks, Nevada, to assemble its SEALMINER line of Bitcoin mining machines. The plant will produce key mining hardware components, with commercial production expected to begin by the end of the year.

Bitdeer Technologies Group (BTDR) stock. Source: Yahoo Finance

Bitdeer CEO Catherine Guo told local media the Singapore-based company worked with Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo’s administration and local authorities to secure tax incentives, including a reduction in qualifying sales taxes, as part of its decision to establish operations in the state.

The investment comes as several large Bitcoin mining companies are expanding into AI and high-performance computing, leveraging their access to power and data center infrastructure. Bitdeer has also expanded into AI cloud services and HPC, though the new Nevada facility will be dedicated to manufacturing Bitcoin mining hardware.

Related: Bitcoin miners’ AI pivot faces investor scrutiny over insider sales

Bitcoin miners ramp up AI infrastructure investments

While Bitdeer is expanding its hardware manufacturing business, many publicly traded Bitcoin miners continue to diversify beyond cryptocurrency mining.

On Thursday, MARA Holdings announced plans to acquire a Texas site with up to 2 gigawatts of capacity to expand its AI and digital infrastructure business. Earlier this week, TeraWulf signed a 20-year data center lease with AI startup Anthropic, a deal the company said could generate roughly $19 billion in contract revenue.

Bitdeer, meanwhile, remains focused on expanding its mining operations alongside its infrastructure business. In its latest production update, the company said it mined 921 BTC in May, a 370% increase from the previous year.

Related: Bitcoin’s quantum dilemma: Bigger blocks or STARK proofs?

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Prosecutors in Wisconsin and New York are growing frustrated with stablecoin giant Circle after it repeatedly ignored law enforcement requests and court orders trying to recover stolen funds.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) detailed how the firm is facing criminal complaints and referrals to Congress over its inability to take action when asked to help recover funds. 

Milwaukee County Police Detective Scott Simons told the ICIJ that he’s seen over a dozen cases where Circle has either refused law enforcement requests to freeze victim funds, or where court orders weren’t obtained quickly enough to stop the flow of crypto. 

The report details how the loss of $400,000 by one pig-butchering victim in Wisconsin led to state prosecutors filing a criminal complaint against Circle in April.

Prosecutors claimed that the firm did intentionally “disobey, resist, or obstruct the authority, process, or order of the court” regarding a warrant asking it to “burn and reissue” the victims’ stolen funds.

Circle had already complied with a court order asking it to freeze the victim’s funds. However, authorities wanted it to seize the funds, “invalidate” them, and then issue $381,000 in new USDC. 

Circle called Wisconsin charges ‘meritless’

Circle attempted to dismiss the complaint last week, calling it “meritless.” 

The firm claimed that it didn’t have the “technical ability to comply” with the warrant, nor did the Circuit Court issuing the warrant possess the relevant jurisdiction to make the request. 

However, crypto tracing firm Cryptoforensic Investigators told the ICIJ that all Circle has to do is update its code.

The ICIJ also notes that in the court filing footnotes, Circle had essentially okayed the permanent freezing of tokens and the reissuance of new USDC to victims. This, in turn, achieves the “burn and reissue” process it said it couldn’t do in the first place.  

Read more: Circle rarely freezes stolen funds but wants reversible transactions

In another instance, New York prosecutors wrote a letter to Congress highlighting Circle’s inability to tackle stolen crypto funds. 

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They claim, “Circle has refused to cooperate with law enforcement or freeze assets unless compelled to do so by legal process, refused to comply with validly issued state search warrants, and refused to return stolen funds to victims, even when compelled by court order.”

The letter said that for Circle, “it is financially preferable to only freeze cryptocurrency deemed to have been stolen, but not return the underlying asset to law enforcement or any fraud victim, because Circle can continue to collect the interest through investment of the underlying funds.”

The ICIJ highlights blockchain researcher Yury Serov and his claim that 119 million USDC tokens remain frozen.

Crypto investigators are also agitated by Circle.

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In January, independent blockchain sleuth “Tanuki42” claimed that Circle sat idly by as it waited for a court order to freeze $3 million worth of “publicly verifiable” stolen funds. Fellow crypto sleuth ZachXBT also chimed in to call Circle a “bad actor.”

Circle was also criticized for its slow response in 2025 after DeFi platform GMX was hacked for $42 million. Tens of millions of USDC were swapped into the DAI stablecoin, which cannot be frozen. 

Got a tip? Send us an email securely via Protos Leaks. For more informed news and investigations, follow us on X, Bluesky, and Google News, or subscribe to our YouTube channel.

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Paul Grewal, who has served as Coinbase’s chief legal officer since 2020, announced that he would transition to an advisory role at the exchange starting on July 31.

In a Thursday X thread and LinkedIn post, Grewal said Coinbase’s legal vice presidents Molly Abraham and Ryan VanGrack would step into new roles as general counsel and vice chair, respectively, following his departure at the end of the month. Abraham said that she would “take the helm” at the exchange’s legal team.

Source: Paul Grewal

Whoever steps into Grewal’s shoes as the exchange’s next chief legal officer would likely have significant influence over crypto policy and regulation in the US. As CLO, Grewal led the exchange’s legal team through the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s 2023 enforcement action that alleged it had been operating as an unregistered securities exchange, broker and clearing agency.

Since the 2023 lawsuit, which was later dismissed under the Trump administration, Coinbase and its executives have established strong relationships with the White House and lawmakers favoring crypto policies. The company is one of the top contributors to the Fairshake political action committee (PAC), which funds media supporting politicians it considers “pro-crypto,” and CEO Brian Armstrong has met with US President Donald Trump in addition to advocating for crypto-related legislation in Congress. 

Related: CLARITY Act markup could happen as early as next week: Coinbase exec

Grewal added that he would announce a potential new position “in due course.” Cointelegraph reached out to Coinbase for additional details on Grewal’s departure, but did not receive an immediate response.

Coinbase will continue to push for US crypto market structure

Many Coinbase executives, including Armstrong, have been pushing lawmakers in Congress to pass the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY), which is expected to largely shift oversight and regulation of digital assets from the SEC to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The US Senate is on a state work period until Monday, when lawmakers will return and potentially take up a vote on the bill.

Magazine: How AI became crypto’s favorite reason to cut staff

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.