Bitcoin miners are emerging as an important part of the AI infrastructure supply chain because they control large amounts of power capacity and data center real estate that are increasingly difficult to secure, according to a new research note from Bernstein.

Analysts Gautam Chhugani, Mahika Sapra, Sanskar Chindalia and Harsh Misra estimate that publicly traded Bitcoin miners control more than 27 gigawatts of planned power capacity and have announced more than $90 billion in AI-related agreements covering 3.7 gigawatts with hyperscalers, neocloud providers and chipmakers.

An April 29 research brief from RAND said that it expects the US will add approximately 82 GW of additional net available capacity by 2030.

The planned power portfolio of 11 public Bitcoin mining companies. Source: Bernstein

According to Bernstein, access to electricity, rather than chips, has become the primary bottleneck for scaling AI data centers. Utility providers can take more than four years to approve new grid connections, even in data center-friendly states such as Texas.

“The median waiting time to secure a GW of power is nothing less than ~50 months across states, and even in politically friendly states such as Texas, the utility is following a batch review process to navigate the interconnect queue and resource load,” the analysts wrote.

Growing regulatory scrutiny and local opposition to large-scale data centers are adding to those delays, giving Bitcoin miners an advantage because they already operate grid-connected sites and have experience managing high-density computing facilities.

Related: The real ‘supercycle’ isn’t crypto, it’s AI infrastructure: Analyst

A shift in miner economics

Bernstein said Bitcoin miners are increasingly diversifying into AI infrastructure as they look for new revenue streams following the 2024 halving, which reduced mining rewards and put pressure on profit margins.

The report said several miners have moved beyond their traditional focus on Bitcoin production to develop AI data centers and high-performance computing facilities.

One recent example is Soluna Holdings, which reported a 58% increase in first-quarter revenue, driven primarily by its data center hosting business, while crypto mining contributed a smaller share of total sales.

Bernstein has also highlighted IREN as a leading example of the shift. The firm said IREN is well-positioned to transition much of its business toward AI infrastructure following its multibillion-dollar agreements with Microsoft.

IREN’s partnership with Microsoft could fundamentally change its business model, according to Bernstein. Source: Bernstein

Related: CoreWeave’s $8.5B loan shows how AI is replacing crypto mining finance

ADA whale wallets now hold 25.09 billion tokens, 67% of the total supply and the highest share since 2020, yet Cardano still trades 92% below its all-time high.

The Cardano price prediction has turned into a waiting game where the biggest holders keep buying a token that has not paid them back in years, and Pepeto offers very different math with more than $10 million raised and a Binance listing that has not reset the price yet.

ADA Whales Hit Record Levels as SuperTrend Flips to Buy

Wallets holding at least one million ADA now control 25.09 billion tokens according to CoinDesk, the highest whale share since 2020. The buying has been running since December 2023, even as ADA lost 71% of its value over nine months, which means the biggest holders kept adding while everyone else sold.

On May 14 the SuperTrend flipped to a buy signal for the first time since September 2025 according to Coinpedia.

The Cardano price prediction now has a fresh chart signal, but ADA at $0.25 still needs a full market rally to move in any real way.

Pepeto and ADA: Whale Buying Meets Presale Opportunity

Pepeto

While ADA whales keep buying through a crash with no clear end, Pepeto is building a trading platform at a price so low that the listing alone could give profits Cardano cannot match in years, and the person who created the original Pepe coin leads the team alongside a former Binance expert who knows exchange systems from the inside.

The bridge moves tokens between Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Solana with zero fees while the risk scorer checks every token contract before money goes in, so traders entering this presale get both free cross chain access and safety tools that protect their capital before they trade.

SolidProof checked every contract before the first dollar came in, and that safe base is one reason more than $10 million has flowed in at $0.0000001871 during a time when most tokens lost value. Staking at 172% APY grows holdings every day while the Binance listing gets closer, and analysts say 100x to 300x profit could come from the listing alone because the moment trading starts the presale price is gone and a new higher price takes its place.

The Cardano price prediction debate is about whether ADA can get back to $1 from $0.25, a 4x that takes years, but Pepeto with the same 420 trillion supply that took the original Pepe coin to $11 billion now has a working platform behind it. The wallets that bought today hold the price that late buyers will wish they had for the rest of this cycle, and every day that passes without buying is one day closer to that price being gone forever.

ADA Forecast: Whale Buying Meets Price Resistance at $0.25

The Cardano price prediction for 2026 stays careful as ADA trades near $0.25 according to CoinMarketCap. Cryptopolitan sees a peak of $1.33, while Changelly puts ADA between $0.27 and $0.37 through December.

CoinCodex stays negative, saying ADA may not get back above $1.24. ADA sits 92% below its $3.10 all-time high from September 2021 and fell from $0.44 in January even with whales buying. Even reaching $1.33 is a 5.3x from $0.25, a gain that needs a full bull run.

The Cardano price prediction math shows waiting that pays off over years, while a presale before a Binance listing could give that kind of return in weeks.

Conclusion

Every Cardano price prediction and large coin recovery story comes down to the same thing: time. ADA needs months or years before the profit shows up, and even the best forecast puts the top at $1.33, a 5.3x that needs a full market recovery to happen. Pepeto sits in a completely different spot as a working platform presale with a Binance listing ahead and no price ceiling set.

The cofounder proved the math once when the original Pepe coin hit $11 billion with zero products and 420 trillion supply, and reaching that level from the Pepeto presale is 150x, this time with a working exchange, a SolidProof audit, and 172% APY staking growing positions every day.

The entry at $0.0000001871 does not exist once the listing gives every token a new price, and $10 million from wallets that already made their choice sits in the presale right now. The Pepeto official website shows the numbers for anyone ready to move before the listing closes this window for good.

Click To Visit Pepeto Website To Enter The Presale

FAQs

What is the Cardano price prediction for 2026?

The Cardano price prediction targets $0.27 to $1.33, but ADA at $0.25 sits 92% below its $3.10 peak and needs a full bull cycle before real profits show up.

Is Pepeto a better buy than Cardano right now?

Pepeto is the stronger early entry because it raised $10 million at $0.0000001871 with a Binance listing ahead and 150x profit potential the Cardano timeline cannot offer.

Disclaimer: This is a Press Release provided by a third party who is responsible for the content. Please conduct your own research before taking any action based on the content.

The XRP Alliance launched on May 19, linking D’CENT’s 720,000 hardware wallet users to XRP yield vaults via Flare Smart Accounts.

D’CENT Wallet and Flare Network announced the XRP Alliance on May 19, a coalition that connects D’CENT’s estimated 720,000 hardware wallet users directly to XRP-denominated yield vaults without requiring a new chain, separate wallet, or gas token.

XRP holders can deposit into vaults directly from the D’CENT app using two signatures on the XRP Ledger, with Flare Smart Accounts minting FXRP and depositing it into the selected vault in a single flow.

Two vaults are available at launch. The Monarq XRP Yield Vault (MXRPY), managed by Monarq Asset Management on Upshift infrastructure, targets 3% to 4% annually through options trading, basis and funding-rate arbitrage, and on-chain XRPFi strategies.

The earnXRP vault, curated by Clearstar, offers the first fully on-chain yield product denominated in XRP, with returns automatically compounded. “Through our partnership with Flare, we are happy to provide the best and easiest way to deposit and manage XRP in the Monarq Yield Vault with top-tier hardware security,” D’CENT said in its campaign announcement.

XRP Alliance brings yield infrastructure to hardware wallets

The alliance also includes Doppler, Banxa, and Squid alongside D’CENT and Flare, with the stated objective of building distribution and interoperability across the XRP ecosystem.

As crypto.news reported in February, Flare expanded modular lending for XRP via Morpho and Mystic earlier in 2026, establishing the vault infrastructure that the D’CENT integration now makes accessible to hardware wallet holders for the first time.

For most of XRP’s history, holders have had limited ways to put the asset to work in programmable finance. As crypto.news documented, XRP ETF products pulled in $81.63 million in net inflows in April 2026, the best month of the year, reflecting growing institutional demand for XRP exposure.

The D’CENT integration extends that institutional-grade infrastructure toward the self-custody retail and semi-institutional holder base, which stores an estimated billions of XRP in hardware devices.

What the 0% fee campaign means for XRP yield adoption

D’CENT is offering a 0% platform fee through June 8, meaning users pay only Flare’s standard base fees. The firm noted that most other platforms charge an additional platform fee on vault deposits.

The Monarq vault carries an initial deposit cap of 500,000 FXRP, with both vaults accessible to non-D’CENT users through the Upshift platform. The XRP price page at crypto.news tracks the live market conditions that affect vault returns, given that yields vary with XRP price movements and strategy performance.

• NEAR price surged to $1.66 amid a notable volume spike.
• AI tokens bounced sharply, including Injective, Theta Network, and Akash Network.
• The near-term outlook for NEAR suggests a retest of $2 if momentum holds.

NEAR Protocol (NEAR) has traded higher in the past 24 hours as bulls eye near-term gains.

The uptick for the artificial intelligence-related token aligned with a broader AI tokens surge on Tuesday, with NEAR seeing a notable rise in trading activity.

NEAR price gains amid 32% spike in daily volume

NEAR is trading at $1.62, up about 7% over the past 24 hours and roughly 4% higher on the weekly chart despite Monday’s brief plunge beneath $1.50.

The price appreciation coincides with a 32% surge in daily volume, with intraday action putting the metric at $295 million as of writing.

Notably, that spike in activity has allowed NEAR to outpace many peers as the broader market navigates renewed downside pressure.

Likely, rotation into projects tied to on-chain compute and decentralized application ecosystems is driving the uptick.

The bounce in AI-related tokens provided additional strength to Injective, Theta Network, and Akash, each of which delivered gains of more than 5% in the past 24 hours.

Render also showed signs of eyeing a retest of a critical resistance level.

Crypto AI is trading up ahead of Nvidia’s first-quarter earnings results.

The industry heavyweight will report on May 20, and tokens across crypto are up amid broader anticipation.

Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang recently traveled to China with President Trump, with the US president meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in a key summit.

NEAR price prediction

Technical indicators suggest a short-term bullish bias for NEAR.

On the daily chart, price action is forming what appears to be a cup-and-handle pattern.

This is a consolidation structure that often precedes continuation to the upside if the handle resolves on renewed volume.

NEAR also currently trades above major moving averages, an arrangement that typically favors buyers. But that’s not all.

Momentum metrics bolster the constructive outlook, with the average directional index (ADX) on the daily frame pointing to a strengthening trend.

Elsewhere, the relative strength index (RSI) sits near 64, indicating momentum with room for further appreciation before reaching overbought territory.

The Awesome Oscillator and MACD indicators both show bullish readings that align with a buying opportunity in the near term.

Price targets and risk levels

If bullish conditions persist, NEAR could extend above the $1.70 level.

Near-term upside targets would be in the $2.00 to $2.50 range, should volume maintain its recent lift and the cup-and-handle pattern get validated.

On the flipside, the initial support band lies around $1.50. The region marks a key consolidation zone, below which could be $1.20.

Polymarket has unveiled a new class of prediction markets tied to private companies, enabling bets on events around pre-IPO firms. The offering, developed in partnership with Nasdaq Private Market, leverages Nasdaq’s data feeds and market infrastructure to price contracts around fundraising rounds, valuation shifts and other corporate milestones in the private sector.

The initiative marks a strategic shift for Polymarket, broadening its product lineup beyond politics, macro events, and publicly traded companies. The goal is to bring more price discovery to private markets, where data is typically scarce and opaque, and to broaden participation among traders who track private-company dynamics.

The project is anchored by Nasdaq Private Market, which will provide the underlying data and the market infrastructure for the new contracts. Polymarket argues that the private-capital universe is swelling, with unicorns — privately held startups valued at $1 billion or more — attracting growing attention from investors and the broader market thirsty for forecast tools tied to private companies. There are nearly 1,600 unicorns worldwide with a combined valuation exceeding $5 trillion, the platform notes, even as access to these firms remains largely restricted to private investors.

The move comes as part of Polymarket’s broader push to reach financially oriented users and to extend prediction markets into private markets where pricing signals are less transparent than in public equities. The partnership with Nasdaq Private Market promises to deliver curated data feeds and a robust settlement framework that could give traders greater confidence when pricing private-company scenarios.

Key takeaways

• Polymarket launches a new category of private-company prediction markets in collaboration with Nasdaq Private Market, using Nasdaq’s data and trading infrastructure for the contracts.
• Markets will focus on pre-IPO events, such as fundraising rounds and valuation changes, alongside other corporate milestones for startups and late-stage private companies.
• Retail traders continue to drive the majority of activity in prediction markets, but institutional interest is rising as data quality and market infrastructure improve. A Bitget Wallet and Polymarket study from April pegged retail share at about 80% of volume.
• The private-market landscape is shaped by the unicorn phenomenon, with about 1,600 unicorns globally and a combined valuation above $5 trillion, underscoring demand for forecast tools in a relatively opaque segment.

Polymarket’s private-market expansion and what it changes for traders

Nasdaq Private Market’s involvement brings a structured data backbone and settlement capability that could help translate private-company events into tradable derivatives on Polymarket. The agreements aim to lower barriers to participate in forecasting around funding rounds, valuation shifts, and other milestones that typically occur behind closed doors or in limited private markets.

The approach reflects a broader push within the crypto and prediction-market ecosystem to broaden participation beyond traditional public markets. By connecting private-company events to a formalized data feed and trading framework, Polymarket seeks to create more transparent price signals for a segment that has long been difficult to price accurately due to limited disclosure and liquidity.

Polymarket has framed unicorns as a driver of this shift. The ecosystem’s acknowledged unicorn count and the scale of private valuations imply substantial interest in market-based forecasts tied to private companies. With roughly 1,600 unicorns worldwide and valuations that exceed $5 trillion collectively, the appetite for tools that forecast private-market outcomes appears robust, even as access to these firms remains restricted to a subset of investors.

Industry observers will be watching how data quality, settlement reliability, and regulatory clarity evolve as private-market prediction contracts gain traction. The arrangement with Nasdaq Private Market could offer a degree of credibility and standardization that helps attract more serious traders to private-company forecasting, while still preserving the accessible, on-demand nature of Polymarket’s platform.

Related reporting has highlighted ongoing institutional interest in the sector. Analysts have noted growing attention from large traders and asset managers seeking to hedge or speculate on private-market outcomes, a trend that aligns with broader market infrastructure improvements and a more favorable regulatory path for certain prediction-market activities. For instance, a milestone cited in industry coverage was Kalshi’s first institutional block trade, framed by Bernstein as a signal of deeper capital participation to come.

As anticipation builds around the private-market category, some observers caution that regulatory and mechanics questions remain. The debate around listing prediction-market ETFs, for example, underscores ongoing complexity in aligning these markets with mainstream financial-market structures. These dynamics suggest that while private-market predictions are gaining traction, the path forward will require careful navigation of risk, transparency, and investor protections.

Related coverage from Cointelegraph notes that institutional interest is rising in tandem with improvements in market infrastructure and regulatory clarity, an encouraging sign for platforms pursuing similar expansions. Linkages to related stories emphasize the broader context in which Polymarket’s move sits, including discussions around institutional participation and the evolving policy landscape that could shape future products.

Retail dominance, shifting capital dynamics, and what to watch next

Even as institutions begin to show more interest, retail traders still account for a substantial share of activity in prediction markets. The April Bitget Wallet and Polymarket analysis found that retail participants generated about 80% of the volume, underscoring the continued appeal of these markets to individual traders seeking alternatives to traditional equities or cryptocurrency investments.

Nevertheless, the conversation around private-market forecasting is gradually shifting toward institutional participation. As data transparency improves and trading infrastructure becomes more sophisticated, professional investors may increasingly incorporate private-market signals into hedging strategies and relative-value trades. Observers will want to monitor how much volume actually migrates from retail to more sophisticated, capital-intensive trades and whether any new products emerge to facilitate larger, privately negotiated positions.

The regulatory backdrop also matters. While there is momentum toward more permissive, structured innovation around prediction markets, questions about mechanics, risk controls, and potential ETF equivalents remain active. The sector has already faced scrutiny and delays in related product approvals, a dynamic that could influence how quickly private-market predictions gain mainstream traction.

Earlier reporting highlighted related institutional interest that could foreshadow broader adoption. For example, coverage of Jump Trading’s stake-building in Kalshi and Polymarket signals indicates that major trading firms are evaluating how to participate more deeply in prediction markets as infrastructure matures.

As Polymarket rolls out its private-market contracts, market participants should watch for how data feeds handle real-time corporate events, how settlement works in volatile private markets, and how the platform handles updates in private-company disclosures and valuations. The evolving regulatory and market infrastructure landscape will shape the pace and scale of adoption for these new contracts, potentially redefining how private equity markets are perceived and priced in the digital age.

For now, the launch signals a notable shift: as private-market data becomes more accessible through established exchanges and venues, forecast-based tools could increasingly become a fixture alongside traditional due diligence and valuation methods used by investors, advisors, and corporate insiders.

What happens next could hinge on two intertwined factors: the reliability of private-market data and the appetite of institutions to engage with these instruments at scale. If the Nasdaq Private Market-backed contracts prove robust in data quality and settlement, Polymarket’s private-market category may become a litmus test for how far price discovery can travel into private capital — and how quickly traders adapt to a world where private events are priced in near real time.

Readers should keep an eye on upcoming updates from Polymarket and Nasdaq Private Market, as well as ongoing regulatory developments that could either accelerate or temper the growth of private-market prediction contracts. The next few quarters will reveal how this blend of data-rich infrastructure and market-native forecasting translates into real-world liquidity and actionable intelligence for investors and builders alike.