Riot’s Anthropic Deal Lifts Bitcoin Miner Stocks, But It’s Bad News For BTC

Riot Platforms’ $9.1 billion Anthropic lease sent RIOT and rival miner stocks sharply higher this week. But the rally points to a shift that could hurt Bitcoin (BTC) itself. Miners are increasingly funding AI buildouts by selling down the coin they mine.

The lease covers 191 megawatts at Riot’s Rockdale, Texas campus over 20 years, worth up to $16.1 billion with extensions. Rival miners TeraWulf, Cipher Mining, and Hut 8 rallied in sympathy the same day.

Miner Stocks Are Rallying On Power Contracts, Not Bitcoin

Riot closed Monday up 4.33%. Cipher Mining gained 5.39%, TeraWulf rose 3.40%, and Hut 8 added 3.39%. Bitcoin slipped 0.49% over the same stretch and has struggles to move beyond the $62,000 – $65,000 range. It is quite clear that the boost the these Bitcoin mining stocks has very little to do with BTC and thus is not helping the price of the underlying asset.

BeInCrypto tracked the same decoupling in July. TeraWulf, IREN, and Hut 8 surged then on AI leasing news, pulling further away from Bitcoin’s own price moves. Riot’s Anthropic deal extends that pattern.

Why The Same Shift Is A Headwind For Bitcoin

The AI pivot funding this rally is not free. Riot’s Bitcoin holdings fell from 15,680 BTC to 11,380 BTC in the second quarter, a drawdown of 4,300 coins. The company sold monthly output and treasury reserves to fund its AI buildout at Rockdale.

That pattern could matter more broadly. Miners that once held Bitcoin as a byproduct of their business are becoming net sellers of it. The proceeds are going into data center leases instead of new mining rigs.

Analysts have priced the stocks on the lease, not the ledger. Riot CEO Jason Les described the shift in the company’s second-quarter earnings statement.

“[Riot has] now executed leases totaling 241 megawatts of capacity, representing approximately $9.8 billion of long-term, contracted revenue with two of the most important companies in the AI ecosystem.”

That framing helps explain the market reaction. H.C. Wainwright raised its Riot price target to $40 from $25 on the Anthropic news. Needham lifted its target to $30. Both cited contracted megawatts rather than Bitcoin output.

It also flips the old trade of buying miner stocks for indirect Bitcoin exposure. Capital chasing Riot, TeraWulf, or Hut 8 is increasingly a bet on AI real estate. Part of that bet is funded by selling the asset those stocks used to track.

None of this means Bitcoin mining is disappearing. Riot’s mining revenue still reached $113.7 million in the second quarter even as leasing revenue grew. But the same deal that sent RIOT soaring came bundled with a steady drawdown in Bitcoin supply worth watching.