Before the US markets opened, shares of Bitcoin 
$77,710 mining companies like IREN, TerraWulf, Cipher Mining, CleanSpark, and Bitfarms saw an increase of 2-5%. IREN stood out with a rise of over 500% since the beginning of the year, trading around $66 after a positive close on Thursday. TerraWulf followed its 10% leap with an additional gain of around 5%. According to Farside data, the sector’s total market value is nearing $90 billion and could surpass $100 billion by year’s end if the momentum continues.
Bitcoin Mining Surge Led by IREN
The rise in shares of Bitcoin mining companies is driven by business models shifting towards data centers and AI capacity. IREN’s multi-year cloud agreements, supported by Nvidia Blackwell GPUs, aim to increase annual recurring revenue to over $500 million by early 2026. Notably, the company’s shares have more than quintupled since the start of the year.
In pre-market trading, TerraWulf shares increased around 5%, with CleanSpark, Cipher Mining, and Bitfarms seeing gains of 2-4%. Market observers highlight that despite Bitcoin pausing after reaching a record $126,200, the momentum in mining company shares is fueled by plans to transition to AI infrastructure.
Data Center Bottleneck Supports Companies
According to Bloomberg, Microsoft’s data center capacity issues might persist until 2026. Even with an additional 2 gigawatts being added, cloud and AI demand continues to surpass supply. This scenario strengthens the thesis of miners with energy contracts and land suitable for high-density infrastructure transitioning to AI/content-focused data centers.
Farside’s calculations show that the sector’s total market size is approaching $90 billion. With accelerated new agreements and capacity rollouts, reaching $100 billion by the end of the year seems plausible. Corporate interest and economies of scale particularly amplify benefits for mining companies with low-cost energy lines.
