Crypto Currents: Miners raise billions for AI as Visa expands stablecoins

Miners are raising billions of dollars to build massive new AI data centers, with TeraWulf announcing a $500M project backed by Google. At the same time, traditional payment giants like Visa and Western Union are diving deeper into stablecoins. And in the “what’s next” category, all eyes are on Strategy as analysts see a high probability of it joining the S&P 500. Stay up on the crypto news that matters with “Crypto Currents,” daily from The Fly. Join us at 2 PM ET for your essential briefing on the fast-moving world of cryptocurrency on FlyCast radio, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for the “Crypto Fly By” weekly recap.

MINERS PIVOT TO AI WITH BILLION-DOLLAR DEALS: The pivot from bitcoin mining to artificial intelligence is gaining serious steam. TeraWulf (WULF) just announced it plans to raise $500M through a private note sale, with an option for another $75M. This money is specifically to build a new AI data center in Texas. This isn’t a small project; it’s part of a massive $9.5B joint venture with Fluidstack. And here’s the kicker: Google (GOOG) is backing $1.3B of Fluidstack’s lease obligations, showing just how serious this move is. This also follows earlier financing efforts involving big names like Morgan Stanley (MS).

In related news, it looks like shareholders at Core Scientific (CORZ) are ready to say “no” to a proposed merger with CoreWeave (CRWV). According to investment bank Jefferies (JEF), Core Scientific’s stock is already trading about 18% above the offer price. That’s a strong signal that investors think the company is undervalued and can do better on its own. Jefferies seems to agree, raising its price target on the stock to $24 and comparing its valuation to peers like Applied Digital (APLD) and Cipher Mining (CIFR).

VISA, WESTERN UNION DEEPEN STABLECOIN INTEGRATION: On the other side of the crypto world, payment giants are getting cozier with blockchain. On its recent Q4 earnings call, Visa’s (V) CEO announced the company is adding support for four new stablecoins on four new blockchains. This isn’t just a test run- according to The Block, spending on Visa cards linked to stablecoins quadrupled in Q4 compared to last year. Visa is even building tools to let banks create and manage (or “mint and burn”) their own stablecoins. Not to be left out, Western Union (WU) saw its shares climb after announcing its own plans for a new stablecoin, this time on the Solana blockchain. Investment bank William Blair called it a “smart step” that could speed up settlements and improve capital efficiency.

This trend of integrating traditional finance with crypto infrastructure is everywhere. Coinbase (COIN) is expanding its partnership with Figment to let its Prime clients stake a wider range of assets directly from custody, including solana (SOL-USD), avalanche (AVAX-USD), and sui (SUI-USD). And in Europe, the digital banking arm of Deutsche Bank (DB), Deutsche Digital Assets, is teaming up with Safello to launch the very first ETP for Bittensor (TAO-USD) on the SIX Swiss Exchange.

STRATEGY EYES S&P 500 AS BITCOIN LAGS STOCKS: According to a 10X Research report, there’s a 70% chance that Strategy (MSTR) could be added to the S&P 500 before the end of the year. A key driver for this could be its upcoming Q3 earnings report. Thanks to new accounting rules, the company is expected to show a massive $3.8B gain on its bitcoin holdings. In another first, S&P Global just gave Strategy its first-ever credit rating for a firm holding this much bitcoin on its treasury: a “B-” rating.

All this focus on Strategy highlights a bigger market trend: for now, bitcoin’s year-to-date returns have actually slipped behind the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. The traditional stock market has been on a tear, fueled by explosive growth in tech—just look at Nvidia (NVDA), which recently rocketed past a $5T market capitalization.

PRICE ACTION: As of time of writing, bitcoin (BTC-USD) was trading at $111,696.57, while ether (ETH-USD) was trading at $3,952.28, according to price data from CoinDesk.