A $116 Million Bet on Core Scientific Signals Conviction Beyond Bitcoin Cycles and Headline Volatility

San Francisco-based Valiant Capital Management increased its position in Core Scientific (NASDAQ:CORZ) by 1.68 million shares in the third quarter, adding an estimated $34.34 million in overall position value, according to a November 14 SEC filing.

What Happened

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission dated November 14, Valiant Capital Management reported buying 1.68 million additional shares of Core Scientific (NASDAQ:CORZ) during the third quarter. The post-transaction position totaled 6.48 million shares with a market value of $116.31 million as of September 30. The fund also reported holding call options tied to about 4.21 million shares.

What Else to Know

Top holdings after the filing:

• NASDAQ:CORZ: $116.31 million (10.8% of AUM)
• NYSEMKT:SPY: $102.93 million (9.5% of AUM)
• NYSEMKT:IWM: $102.31 million (9.5% of AUM)
• NYSE:AGX: $68.75 million (6.4% of AUM)
• NYSE:GEV: $67.16 million (6.2% of AUM)

As of Wednesday, CORZ shares were priced at $14.65, up about 4% over the past year and underperforming the S&P 500, which is up about 17% in the same period.

Company Overview

Company Snapshot

• Core Scientific provides digital asset mining, blockchain infrastructure, and colocation services, generating revenue from self-mining operations and hosting solutions for large-scale miners.
• The company operates a dual business model, earning income both from mining digital assets for its own account and from hosting and equipment sales to third-party miners.
• Primary customers include large-scale digital asset miners and blockchain technology firms seeking secure, high-performance infrastructure and hosting services.

Core Scientific, Inc. is a leading provider of blockchain infrastructure and digital asset mining services in North America, operating large-scale data centers and offering both self-mining and hosting solutions.

Foolish Take

It’s important to note that this stake was built while Core Scientific was rallying sharply, not after the wheels came off. Shares were up roughly 24% in the first three quarters of the year, reflecting growing optimism around infrastructure monetization and the proposed CoreWeave merger. The subsequent 32% slide came later, after that deal was scrapped in late October.

That sequencing reframes the move. This was not a reflexive dip buy. It was an endorsement of the strategy before the headline risk reentered the picture.

At the time, Core Scientific was starting to be valued less like a pure-play Bitcoin miner and more like a power and compute platform. Third-quarter results reinforced that shift, highlighting growing colocation revenue and the optionality embedded in its large-scale, power-rich data center footprint. The merger’s collapse removed a near-term catalyst but did not erase the underlying thesis.

Meanwhile, within the portfolio, this remains the most concentrated position, outranking broad market ETFs and industrial holdings alike. That suggests a tolerance for volatility in exchange for a potentially nonlinear payoff.

Glossary

13F reportable assets under management: The portion of a fund’s assets required to be disclosed in quarterly SEC Form 13F filings.
AUM (Assets Under Management): The total market value of investments managed by a fund or investment firm.
Colocation services: Renting space and infrastructure in a data center to host clients’ computing equipment.
Digital asset mining: The process of using computing power to validate blockchain transactions and earn cryptocurrency rewards.
Hosting solutions: Services that provide infrastructure and management for clients’ computing or mining equipment.
Self-mining operations: When a company mines digital assets for its own account rather than on behalf of clients.
Dual business model: A company strategy that generates revenue from two distinct but related business activities.
Quarter: A three-month period used by companies to report financial performance, often aligning with calendar quarters.
Market value: The total value of a holding, calculated as the current share price multiplied by the number of shares owned.
TTM: The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.
Colocation: The practice of housing privately-owned servers and networking equipment in a third-party data center.

Jonathan Ponciano has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Ge Vernova. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.