Crypto stocks are quietly trouncing Bitcoin, and the gap is getting too big to ignore. According to 10x Research, crypto-linked equities and miners have surged far ahead of BTC over the past 18 months, riding a powerful rotation into AI-driven compute and high-performance infrastructure. If your portfolio is still mapped 1:1 to Bitcoin, you may be missing the market’s new leadership—and the risks that come with it.

What’s Actually Moving

10x Research’s BTC Mining Index is up +378% in 18 months, versus Bitcoin’s +73%. The winners are led by diversified miners and hybrid infrastructure names:

• Iris Energy (IREN): +541%
• Circle (CRCL): +358%
• Robinhood (HOOD): +275%
• Hut 8 (HUT): +133%
• Galaxy Digital (GLXY.TO): +123%
• CleanSpark (CLSK): +110%
• Riot Platforms (RIOT): +110%

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC-USD) rose +73% in the same period, and MicroStrategy (MSTR)—long treated as a high-beta BTC proxy—is flat YTD despite BTC’s +19% rise since January. 10x Research estimates MSTR now trades at just 1.13x NAV and screens as ~29% undervalued relative to BTC, reflecting a rotation from passive BTC exposure to productive infrastructure.

Why This Matters to Traders

The narrative has shifted from “own Bitcoin beta” to “own the infrastructure that scales the digital economy.” Miners expanding into AI compute and high-performance data services are gaining new revenue lines and investor attention. But the report also flags rising volatility and flattening ETF inflows—a mix that often precedes sharp rotations and corrective moves. Leaders can become liquidity targets during risk-off swings.

Actionable Setups and Risk Controls

• Rotation trades: Consider relative value: monitor long select miners vs. short BTC-beta proxies (e.g., MSTR) if NAV discounts/premiums mean-revert. Alternatively, watch for MSTR/NAV re-rating opportunities.
• Follow the compute pivot: Prioritize miners with disclosed AI/HPC revenue, signed capacity deals, and low-cost power. Oracle’s multibillion AI commitments highlight real demand for HPC.
• Event watchlist: Track BTC resistance tests, ETF net flows, miner monthly production, energy prices, hashprice, and capacity expansion announcements.
• Risk management: Expect larger drawdowns. Use options to hedge BTC downside, trim parabolic names into strength, and avoid crowded, illiquid tickers.
• Technical discipline: Use relative strength lines (miners/BTC). Favor pullbacks to 50/100-day MAs with volume confirmation over chasing breakouts.
• Valuation focus: Compare EV/EBITDA, forward hashrate per MW, power contracts, and balance sheet runway. Penalize high-cost miners with thin liquidity.

Key Indicators to Monitor This Week

• Spot Bitcoin ETF inflows/outflows and basis/funding rates
• Crypto implied vol (e.g., DVOL) and cross-asset risk gauges
• Miner updates on HPC/AI contracts and data center buildouts
• MSTR premium/discount to implied BTC NAV
• Liquidity/volume shifts in GLXY, HOOD, and leading miners

Bottom Line

The market’s new leadership is clear: AI + mining is powering crypto equities to outsized gains versus Bitcoin. This outperformance can persist while AI demand, block rewards, and institutional flows stay aligned—but rising volatility raises the cost of being late. Focus on quality balance sheets, real compute revenues, and disciplined entries. Let rotation work for you, not against you.

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