Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said cryptocurrency had moved beyond the fringes of American finance on Aug. 20, citing an industry-backed estimate that more than 67 million Americans own digital assets.

Garlinghouse made the statement after attending a White House meeting with President Donald Trump, Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig and cryptocurrency industry executives.

“Crypto isn’t a fringe industry,” Garlinghouse wrote on X. He also described cryptocurrency owners as an active voting group, although the cited research measured ownership and usage rather than voting intentions.

Hyperliquid’s native token, HYPE, jumped sharply after President Donald Trump said U.S. regulators are working on a “compliant and legal” pathway that could allow the decentralized trading platform to serve American users. The move highlighted how much market participants are willing to reprice crypto assets on the prospect of clearer access to the United States—despite the absence of concrete implementation details.

HYPE traded near $62 shortly before Trump’s remarks, then rose as much as 16% to a 24-hour high of $72.28, according to CoinGecko data. The token later settled around $70, up roughly 20% on the day, with 24-hour trading volume reaching about $1.4 billion.

Key takeaways

• HYPE surged more than 20% over 24 hours following Trump remarks about a compliant U.S. pathway for Hyperliquid.
• Price action likely reflected expectations of future U.S. access, which could change how HYPE is perceived and valued.
• Hyperliquid Strategies (Nasdaq: PURR) spiked alongside the token, but the company says it is independent of Hyperliquid.
• A large spike in PURR October $8 call options drew attention, though public data does not confirm the motivation or whether any trading involved nonpublic information.

Trump’s regulatory signal lifts HYPE

The catalyst came during a Wednesday White House event. Trump said he understood that CFTC Chair Michael Selig and “Mike” are working to bring Hyperliquid into the U.S. “in a fully compliant and legal fashion,” adding, “Working very hard on that.” The comments referenced the CFTC’s role in crafting regulatory pathways for market activity connected to digital assets.

For traders, the timing mattered: HYPE’s rally began immediately around the remarks and extended into the following hours. According to CoinGecko, the token’s intraday move ranged up to $72.28 before settling near $70. In practical terms, that kind of rapid repricing tends to occur when markets believe the probability of a regulatory breakthrough has increased—especially for networks associated with accessible on-ramps and clearer participation by U.S. users.

Still, the market reaction has not been matched with policy specifics. Neither the CFTC nor Hyperliquid has released a formal proposal describing what “compliant” U.S. access would look like, whether any application has been submitted, or when a compliant service could launch.

Why “U.S. access” can reprice decentralized platforms

Decentralized trading platforms often face a recurring challenge: how to reconcile the mechanics of open, protocol-driven exchange with U.S. regulatory expectations. When senior U.S. officials publicly suggest that regulators are working on a pathway, investors may anticipate changes that could broaden the addressable user base.

That expectation is visible in the way the token moved relative to the lack of concrete details. HYPE rallied on the notion that U.S. availability could reduce friction for American participants, which in turn can affect liquidity expectations and demand. The rally also appeared to extend to firms whose equities investors associate with the ecosystem.

However, it’s important to separate a “possible pathway” from a finished regulatory outcome. Without published requirements or a stated process, traders remain exposed to uncertainty: the implementation could take longer than markets expect, or the eventual structure could differ from what investors are currently pricing.

PURR shares surge—and options trading raises questions

Alongside HYPE, shares of Hyperliquid Strategies, a Nasdaq-listed treasury company trading under the ticker PURR, surged Wednesday. Yahoo Finance reported the stock closed at $9.39, up 30.4%.

The relationship is nuanced. While the company shares the Hyperliquid name, Hyperliquid Strategies’ own disclaimer states it is independent and not affiliated with Hyperliquid.

Options activity added another layer to the story. CNBC reported that roughly four hours before Trump spoke, someone reportedly paid about $65,000 for 719 PURR call options with an $8 strike price expiring in mid-October. CNBC said the contracts were purchased at approximately $0.90 each and were quoted at $2.45 by the close, implying a position value near $176,000 and an unrealized gain of roughly $111,000.

Public options data also corroborated unusually heavy interest in that contract. According to OptiView data cited by CNBC, 2,575 of the October $8 calls were traded during the session, compared with just 67 contracts in open interest beforehand. The same data indicated volume was more than 140 times the contract’s 30-day average.

At the same time, the publicly available information does not establish who placed the order, nor does it prove that the trades were based on nonpublic information. The data shows elevated activity but cannot confirm intent. There is also no clear evidence of insider trading in the reporting, and the CFTC had previously publicly disclosed a July 15 meeting with Hyperliquid Labs and Hyperliquid Strategies.

For investors, this matters because option flows can be an early indicator of where expectations are forming—yet they can also reflect hedging, speculation, or tactical positioning that is not directly tied to any official development. Without additional disclosures, the “why” behind the PURR options remains unresolved.

What to watch next

For now, HYPE’s rally underscores how quickly crypto markets can respond to regulatory signals—but the next move depends on clarity. Readers should watch for any follow-up from U.S. regulators or the involved companies that outlines an actual compliant framework, including application status, timelines, and how U.S. access would be operationalized.

Core Scientific’s transformation from bankrupt Bitcoin miner to U.S. artificial intelligence infrastructure provider accelerated during the second quarter of 2026. 

The company reported approximately 1.1 gigawatts of leased customer power capacity and more than $24 billion in potential revenue under long-term contracts.

The July 28 results also showed that high-density colocation had become the company’s largest business. Colocation produced $136.7 million of Core Scientific’s $164.2 million in quarterly revenue. Digital asset self-mining contributed $21.5 million.

The turnaround is supported by signed contracts with CoreWeave and companies deploying AMD technology. However, the $24 billion figure is neither cash received nor guaranteed profit. It represents potential revenue spread across contracts lasting as long as 15 years.

Core Scientific must still construct the facilities, deliver capacity on schedule and keep customers operating under those agreements. Its latest filing also shows that the transition requires heavy spending and considerably more debt.

Core Scientific preserved power assets through bankruptcy

Core Scientific filed for Chapter 11 protection in December 2022 after Bitcoin prices fell, electricity costs rose and financing conditions tightened. The company also faced a payment dispute with bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius, previously one of its mining-hosting customers.

The company had about $4 million in cash when it filed. Its problem was not an absence of physical assets. It had already invested heavily in mining facilities, substations, land, equipment and access to utility power. Those assets could not produce enough cash to meet its immediate liabilities during the market downturn.

A Texas bankruptcy court confirmed the company’s reorganization plan in January 2024. Core Scientific emerged later that month and resumed Nasdaq trading under the CORZ ticker. The restructuring reduced its debt by approximately $400 million through conversions of equipment financing and convertible-note claims into equity.

More importantly, the company retained 724 megawatts of operating capacity across five U.S. states. That infrastructure became valuable as AI companies began competing for sites with secured power, fiber connections and space for high-density computing equipment.

Building a new data center can require years of grid studies, permits and construction. Core Scientific already controlled energized sites built for power-intensive Bitcoin mining. Management began marketing that infrastructure to AI customers seeking faster deployment.

CoreWeave established a new use for mining capacity

Core Scientific’s commercial shift began with CoreWeave. In June 2024, the companies signed 12-year agreements covering about 200 megawatts of high-performance computing infrastructure. Core Scientific estimated more than $3.5 billion of cumulative revenue under the initial contracts.

Several expansions increased CoreWeave’s contracted capacity to approximately 590 megawatts. Core Scientific now associates those agreements with approximately $10.2 billion in potential revenue over their terms.

The contracts also reduced some of Core Scientific’s initial financing burden. CoreWeave agreed to fund parts of the construction, with those amounts credited against future hosting payments. During the first six months of 2026, CoreWeave funded $180.9 million of Core Scientific’s capital expenditures.

As crypto.news previously reported, the company sold $208.3 million of Bitcoin to finance its AI transition during the first quarter. The sale represented a clear change from a model centered on accumulating and mining BTC.

CoreWeave attempted to acquire Core Scientific before the infrastructure transition was fully completed. Core Scientific rejected a $5.75-per-share cash offer in 2024, saying it undervalued the business.

The companies agreed to an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $9 billion in July 2025. Shareholders rejected the transaction on Oct. 30, after opposition focused on the fixed exchange ratio, valuation and exposure to CoreWeave’s share price. The companies then terminated the agreement but retained their commercial relationship.

AMD expands the Core Scientific AI pipeline

Core Scientific announced a wider infrastructure partnership with AMD on July 28, 2026. The arrangement starts with approximately 530 megawatts across five U.S. sites under 15-year agreements.

The company associates that initial capacity with more than $14 billion in potential base contract revenue. Deployments are scheduled to begin in 2027 and will support customers using AMD Instinct accelerators, EPYC processors and ROCm software.

AMD also received reservation rights covering another 1.925 gigawatts. If all reserved capacity becomes contracted, the partnership could reach approximately 2.5 gigawatts.

That larger figure remains conditional. Reservation rights are not the same as executed leases. Development will depend on customer demand, available grid capacity, construction progress and additional financing.

The arrangement gave AMD warrants to purchase as many as 30 million Core Scientific shares at $23.47 each. Approximately 6.5 million warrants vested after related leases were executed in July, according to Core Scientific’s quarterly filing.

Some initial capacity was leased to AI infrastructure operator Neocloud. AMD entered a credit-support arrangement connected to equipment installed for Neocloud, but the filed contracts do not describe AMD as an unconditional guarantor of every Neocloud payment.

The expansion reduces Core Scientific’s reliance on CoreWeave at the contracted-capacity level. Customer concentration nevertheless remains material because a limited number of counterparties support most of the company’s colocation revenue.

AI revenue has overtaken Bitcoin mining

Core Scientific’s financial results show that the transition has advanced beyond announced plans. Second-quarter colocation revenue rose to $136.7 million from $10.6 million one year earlier.

The segment produced approximately $80 million in quarterly gross profit and a margin near 59%. Self-mining produced $21.5 million in revenue but recorded a gross loss of approximately $12.2 million.

Core Scientific said 437 megawatts were generating billable revenue by the end of the quarter. That capacity represented about $635 million in annualized GAAP hosting revenue, based on the company’s calculation.

The business was not profitable under GAAP. Core Scientific reported a quarterly net loss of approximately $1.16 billion and an operating loss of $78.5 million.

About $1.05 billion of the net loss came from fair-value changes involving warrants and contingent value rights. Those expenses were non-cash accounting charges linked mainly to movements in Core Scientific’s share price. They did not represent an equivalent cash payment during the quarter.

Adjusted EBITDA reached $41.1 million. This is a non-GAAP measure that excludes several expenses and should not be treated as equivalent to net income or unrestricted cash flow.

CORZ traded near $18.72 on Aug. 20, giving the company a market capitalization of approximately $6.1 billion. The share price remained several times above its $3.44 closing price on the first day after its January 2024 relisting.

The $24 billion pipeline carries a financing test

Core Scientific spent $954.2 million on property and equipment during the first half of 2026. It also completed a roughly $232.5 million acquisition of land and development rights for a proposed 430-megawatt site in Hunt County, Texas.

The company financed part of its expansion by issuing $3.3 billion of senior secured notes in May. The notes carry a 7.75% interest rate and mature in 2031. Long-term debt reached approximately $4.3 billion by June 30, up from about $1.06 billion at the end of 2025.

Core Scientific held approximately $1.8 billion in cash, cash equivalents and digital assets at quarter-end. However, it expects continued construction spending as it converts former mining sites and develops new campuses.

The company’s first-half operating cash flow also requires context. It benefited from Bitcoin sales, customer construction funding and changes in working capital. Those sources do not show that recurring colocation income can already finance the full development program independently.

Similar economics are encouraging other miners to reuse power infrastructure. In related coverage, crypto.news found that Bitcoin miners are increasingly converting energized sites into AI data centers as mining margins weaken.

Core Scientific’s immediate targets include bringing more CoreWeave capacity online and starting the contracted AMD-related deployments in 2027. Delivery schedules, construction spending, customer performance and additional lease conversions will determine how much of the advertised backlog becomes recognized revenue.

The turnaround rests on a genuine shift in revenue, but its completion remains forward-looking. Core Scientific has exchanged direct exposure to Bitcoin prices and mining difficulty for construction, financing and customer-credit risks. The company’s next test is converting contracted megawatts into reliable, billable computing capacity without allowing its debt burden to outpace operating earnings.

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