Bitcoin Miners Rally as OpenAI AI Data Centers Fuel Energy Demand Speculation

While Bitcoin's (BTC) price remains stagnant and corporate BTC treasury firms have experienced a rapid boom-and-bust cycle, Bitcoin miners are witnessing a significant bull run. This surge is driven by the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and High-Performance Computing (HPC) as major new growth drivers. The momentum continued strongly on Wednesday, with leading miners like Riot Platforms (RIOT) and IREN (IREN) each gaining approximately 13%. Other major players such as Hut 8 (HUT), CleanSpark (CLSK), and Bit Digital (BTBT) saw increases of around 6%. Since the April lows, IREN has been the top performer, skyrocketing nearly 500%. The current rally is fueled by reports that OpenAI, Oracle (ORCL), and SoftBank are accelerating their ambitious "Stargate" AI infrastructure project, planning five new U.S. data center sites. This massive expansion is expected to add nearly 7 gigawatts of planned capacity, representing over $400 billion in investment, with a target of reaching 10 gigawatts by the end of 2025. Although the sheer scale of AI demand speculation might be approaching "bubble territory," AI-focused miners are positioned as primary beneficiaries of the capital and infrastructure required to meet these enormous energy needs. Even traditional Bitcoin miners like Riot Platforms (RIOT) and CleanSpark (CLSK) are now strategically expanding into AI and HPC, which has positively impacted their stock performance; RIOT is up 85% year-to-date, and CLSK has gained 55%. In contrast, MARA Holdings (MARA), which recently shifted its focus more towards a Bitcoin treasury strategy, has underperformed most of the sector with only a 10% gain in 2025.