The rally followed weeks of selling pressure that left most of the sector deep in negative territory for July.
- Fresh announcements from Hut 8 and IREN renewed optimism around the industry’s shift toward AI infrastructure and cloud computing.
- Cipher Digital led the sector higher despite Morgan Stanley lowering its price target, while maintaining an ‘Overweight’ rating on the stock.
- Monday’s rally followed a difficult July for the sector, with most companies still trading well below where they began the month.
Shares of crypto mining companies, which are now pivoting toward data center infrastructure, jumped in midday trade on Monday, after Hut 8’s (HUT) $9.8 billion lease and Iren’s (IREN) raised guidance sparked a sector-wide rally.
Cipher Digital (CIFR) led the gains among major names, followed by Cleanspark (CLSK), Marathon Holdings (MARA), Hut 8 (HUT) and Bit Digital (BTBT). Other firms like Riot Platforms (RIOT), HIVE Digital (HIVE), and Keel Infrastructure (KEEL) also showed strong gains.
CIFR’s stock surged over 17% in midday trade despite Morgan Stanley lowering its price target on the shares. CLSK’s stock climbed more than 13%, while Hut 8 and MARA each gained over 10%.
Despite the massive upticks, CLSK’s stock is the only one among the cohort in positive territory for the month of July.
The rally came after Hut 8 announced on Monday that it had secured a second $9.8 billion lease at its Beacon Point campus, fully commercializing its 1-gigawatt Texas site. Meanwhile, Iren raised its 2026 annual recurring revenue (ARR) estimates to more than $4 billion, up from $3.7 billion.
CIFR Stock Climbs Despite Wall Street Target Cut
Cipher’s 17% jump came even as Morgan Stanley analyst Stephen Byrd trimmed his price target on the stock to $47 from $48.50 on Monday, according to TheFly. It was the second such cut from Byrd this year, following a reduction from $53.50 to $48.50 in early June. Both cuts were driven by softer Bitcoin mining economics, tied to Bitcoin’s own price weakness, rather than any change in Cipher’s data center buildout.
Byrd kept his ‘Overweight’ rating through both cuts, and even at $47, his target implies a potential upside of 135% from where shares are currently trading at around $20.
July Pullback Leaves Room For Recovery
The rally comes against a backdrop of broader regulatory pressure on data center buildouts. New York imposed a statewide moratorium on new hyperscale data center construction earlier this month, and President Trump has publicly called the move a “terrible decision.”
Charting the group’s total return for the month of July shows just how deep that pullback had gotten before Monday’s bounce. As of midday trade on Monday, RIOT was down more than 28% and KEEL down more than 26% for the period, with CIFR, MARA, HUT, and IREN all off between roughly 12% and 17%. CLSK was the only name in the group holding a gain.
Monday’s rally trimmed those losses across the board but didn’t erase them.
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