Night Watch: AI giant pays $9.1 billion to miner, Hayes sees salvation in the yen, and BlackRock opens doors to small investors
While the market consolidated near key levels, landmark events occurred in the industry: from a record deal between the AI sector and Bitcoin mining to a game-changing shift in the largest spot ETF. Here's what this means for investors.
Market: A Quiet Night, but Activity Simmers Beneath the Surface
Bitcoin (BTC) spent the night in a narrow range, trading around $63,980 in the morning. On the 15-minute chart, the price touched $63,800, then bounced to $64,100, but failed to hold above that level, returning to $64,000. Ether (ETH) held near $1,874, fluctuating within $1,868–$1,880 after a recent drop from $1,928. The top-10 altcoins showed subdued dynamics: Hyperliquid (HYPE) rose 2.12%, Solana (SOL) gained 1.04%, and BNB corrected by 0.52%.
Among the top-100, Curve DAO Token (CRV) stood out with a 10.8% gain, followed by Internet Computer (ICP) and Lighter (LIT) with increases of 7.84% and 6.62%, respectively. The day's laggard was the Audiera token (BEAT), which plunged 51.2%.
ETF Flows and Liquidations: Investors Are Cautious
Flows into spot ETFs were mixed. Bitcoin funds lost $144.67 million, while Ether funds saw outflows of $14.59 million. Meanwhile, investors increased positions in Solana (+$8.83 million) and HYPE (+$2.74 million). Over the past 24 hours, exchanges liquidated positions of 68,722 traders totaling $201.08 million. The largest liquidation order came from Hyperliquid — a BRENTOIL oil contract worth $10.55 million, highlighting the growing connection between crypto derivatives and traditional markets.
Top News of the Night: AI Buys Up Miners
The key event is a $9.1 billion deal between AI developer Anthropic and Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms, spanning 20 years. Anthropic will receive 191 MW of computing capacity at Riot's facility in Rockdale, Texas. Full launch is scheduled for June 2028, and two five-year extension options could increase the contract's value to $16.1 billion. This is a clear signal: AI companies are desperately competing for energy resources and infrastructure, and miners are becoming key players in this race.
BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes presented an unconventional scenario for yen strengthening. In his view, Japan may not raise rates or sell off U.S. Treasury bonds, but instead utilize the Fed's FIMA repo facility. If the $60 billion limit is raised, Japan could pledge its $1.37 trillion in Treasuries, obtaining dollar liquidity to buy yen. Hayes considers this scenario bullish for Bitcoin, gold, and Ether, as it would lead to an expansion of the Fed's balance sheet.
Finally, BlackRock lowered the minimum threshold for in-kind exchanges in its Bitcoin ETF IBIT from $25 million to $1 million. Now investors with $1 million in Bitcoin can conduct in-kind operations through authorized participants, receiving fund shares. This is a step toward democratizing access to the ETF. Manager Robert Mitchnick also announced the BITA fund, targeting returns of 15–19% with limited Bitcoin volatility.
My take: The Anthropic-Riot deal is not just a contract but confirmation of a new economic paradigm where miners become energy suppliers for AI. This could revalue the entire sector. BlackRock's lowered threshold signals growing institutional demand, but in the short term, the market remains hostage to macroeconomic uncertainty.