JPMorgan reports that bitcoin network hashrate fell about 2% in early 2026, boosting miner daily revenue and gross margins. 14 U.S.-listed miners added $13B in market cap. Push into AI/HPC emerges as new profit lever.

Riot Platforms said it bought land at its Rockdale, Texas site for $96 million using proceeds from the sale of about 1,080 bitcoin, while also signing a 10-year data center lease and services agreement with AMD.

Bitget market data showed diverging performance across U.S.-listed crypto stocks over the past 24 hours. RIOT, or Riot Platforms, rose 12.67%, while CIFR, short for Cipher Digital, gained 9.40%. On the losing side, CRCL, representing Circle, fell 7.73%, and COIN, the ticker for Coinbase, dropped 7.1%. The snapshot points to a split session for the crypto-related equity segment rather than a uniform move across the board.

Crypto markets saw another mixed 24-hour session, with major exchange volume leaders mostly in the red while a handful of smaller tokens posted strong gains. BTC fell 1.06%, ETH slipped 0.44%, SOL lost 1.12%, and RE stood out with a 15.6% rise among the most actively traded names. OKX’s top gainers list was led by ZAMA, PROS, and RE, while msx.com’s crypto-linked stock leaderboard featured SMCI.M, SKHY.M, and TSLQ.M. On-chain meme activity tracked by GMGN centered heavily on Robinhood Chain. The broader news flow was equally busy. U.S. President Donald Trump said the federal government is expected to face a shutdown in September as Republicans and Democrats remain split on spending priorities. Samsung Electronics said at Galaxy Unpacked 2026 that Samsung Wallet will add stablecoin support and combine payments, rewards, and digital assets in one service. Kraken parent Payward is expanding xStocks beyond the U.S. by bringing equities from Hong Kong, the U.K., South Korea, and other markets on-chain. Other developments included a reported update on the CLARITY Act, the U.K.’s plan for a tokenized sovereign bond before early 2027, projections for crypto’s economic contribution to the U.S. in 2026, Japan’s possible launch of a Bitcoin ETF by 2028, and comments from Grayscale’s Zach Pandl on whether Bitcoin may already have bottomed.

From Oct 2025 to Feb 2026, five major miners dumped ~15,000 BTC. February sales hit a record 6,100 BTC as Bitcoin fell to $70k, driven by cost pressures.

Bitcoin shrugged off Trump's additional 10% tariff announcement, nearing $68,000. Altcoins surged 3-4%. CoinDesk 20 rose 2.5%, Coinbase and Strategy gained over 2%, while AI miners dropped. Analyst expects range-bound trading.

Singapore-based miner Bitdeer sold all its BTC holdings to fund AI infrastructure, marking a sharp departure from the industry's coin-hoarding tradition.

VanEck says bitcoin miners moving into AI infrastructure now face scrutiny over execution, not contract headlines. The firm estimates a near-term funding gap of about $50 billion and long-term capital needs of $221 billion.