Crypto Currents: Ripple announces $500M investment at $40B valuation

As bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies see major legal, institutional, and technological developments, the financial landscape continues to adapt. Stay up on the crypto news that matters with the “Crypto Currents” weekly from The Fly. Also, join us for your essential daily recap, every day at 2 PM ET on FlyCast radio.

RIPPLE ANNOUNCES $500M INVESTMENT: On Wednesday, Ripple announced (GLXY), Brevan Howard, and Marshall Wace. The investment follows Ripple’s strongest year to date and a recent $1B tender offer at the same valuation.

“This investment reflects both Ripple’s incredible momentum, and further validation of the market opportunity we’re aggressively pursuing by some of the most trusted financial institutions in the world,” said Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple CEO. “We started in 2012 with one use case – payments – and have expanded that success into custody, stablecoins, prime brokerage and corporate treasury, leveraging digital assets like XRP. Today, Ripple stands as the partner for institutions looking to access crypto and blockchain.”

Additionally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage of Galaxy Digital with an Overweight rating and $42 price target. The firm views Galaxy Digital as nascent artificial intelligence data center developer with a “clear path” to monetizing one of the largest single-campus high performance computer data centers under development. In addition, the company has a blockchain-enabled investment bank, the analyst said. Morgan Stanley views these two as a “compelling combination.”

COINBASE ENTERS SETTLEMENT WITH CENTRAL BANK OF IRELAND: The Central Bank of Ireland announced a settlement with Coinbase Europe Limited (COIN), Coinbase’s Irish affiliate that provided crypto services to European customers. “This settlement is a result of certain technical coding errors that impacted how we monitored crypto transactions in 2021 and 2022. As a starting point for their fine, CBI looked at our average annual revenue over 2021 to 2024 of EUR 417M. As a result, in this settlement, CBEL will pay a fine of EUR 21.5M,” Coinbase said in a Thursday statement. “Coinbase recognizes the importance of effective AML procedures and takes our obligations under AML legislation and regulatory guidance very seriously. Our goal has always been and will always be to build the most trusted, compliant, and secure platform in the world.”

Meanwhile, BofA raised the firm’s price target on Coinbase to $358 from $340 and kept a Neutral rating on the shares after Coinbase reported an EPS beat, driven primarily by transaction revenues and lower taxes. Coinbase is making inroads in becoming the “Everything Exchange” following its acquisition of Echo and Deribit, the analyst said in a post-earnings note.

Mizuho also raised the firm’s price target on Coinbase to $320 from $300 and kept a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm is increasing its estimates “modestly” after the company’s Q3 report, the analyst said.

Additionally on Monday, Eightco Holdings (ORBS) announced the addition of Coinbase to its pilot program of INFINITY Authentication, an application platform designed to bring secure, AI-resistant authentication that serves platforms in financial services and other industries. INFINITY by Eightco enables single sign-on authentication that verifies humanness across distributed systems built right into the application.

RIOT PRICE TARGET CHANGES: Bernstein raised the firm’s price target on Riot Platforms (RIOT) to $25 from $19 and kept an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm noted that bitcoin miners are now an integral part of the AI value chain, providing warm powered shells for AI data centers, considered the biggest bottleneck to execution. Every U.S listed bitcoin miner has pivoted towards optimizing value of their power assets over maximizing bitcoin upside. Bernstein updated the valuation model of miners within its coverage and has discarded our DCF valuation methodology to capture the different valuation multiple for Bitcoin mining and AI/HPC colocation business.

Bernstein also raised the firm’s price target on CleanSpark (CLSK) to $24 from $20 and on Core Scientific (CORZ) to $24 from $17. The analyst kept an Outperform rating on the names.

Meanwhile, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered the firm’s price target on Riot Platforms to $25 from $26 and kept an Overweight rating on the shares. Riot minted 437 Bitcoin in October, or 14.1 Bitcoin per day, a decrease from the 445 Bitcoin, or 14.8 Bitcoin mined per day in September, the analyst said. Riot did not provide any update related to its AI/HPC ambitions, which was the main focus of Q3 earnings when it reported last week, Cantor noted.

Cantor Fitzgerald also lowered the firm’s price target on CleanSpark to $23 from $24 and kept an Overweight rating on the shares. CleanSpark mined 612 bitcoin in October, down from 629 bitcoin in September, and Cantor estimates CleanSpark generated $69.6M in bitcoin mining revenue in October, down 2.5% month over month from $71.4M in September, the analyst said. The firm lowered its price target, citing the decline in value of CleanSpark’s bitcoin position, partially offset by incorporating AI/HPC optionality into its valuation framework.

IREN SECURES AI CLOUD CONTRACT WITH MICROSOFT: IREN Limited (IREN) announced Monday that it has (MSFT). Under the agreement, IREN will provide Microsoft with access to NVIDIA GB300 GPUs over a five-year term, with a total contract value of approximately $9.7B, including a 20% prepayment. IREN has also entered into an agreement with Dell Technologies (DELL) to purchase the GPUs and ancillary equipment for approximately $5.8B. The GPUs are expected to be deployed in phases through 2026 at IREN’s 750MW Childress, Texas campus, in conjunction with the delivery of new liquid-cooled data centers that will collectively support 200MW of critical IT load. IREN expects to fund the capital expenditures associated with the contract through a combination of existing cash, customer prepayments, operating cashflows and additional financing initiatives.

Daniel Roberts, Co-CEO, commented, “We’re proud to announce this milestone partnership with Microsoft, highlighting the strength and scalability of our vertically integrated AI Cloud platform. This agreement not only validates IREN’s position as a trusted provider of AI Cloud services, but also opens access to a new customer segment among global hyperscalers. It marks another major step forward for IREN as we continue to expand large-scale GPU deployments across our 3GW secured power portfolio in North America, reinforcing our position as a leading AI Cloud Service Provider.”

Roth Capital raised the firm’s price target on IREN to $94 from $82 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The company’s Microsoft deal at Childress brings a level of credibility that investors were looking for, and the firm believes this is an initial first step for Hyperscaler AIC/DC deals, with expectation that there is probably more legs to it, the analyst said.

Additionally on Thursday, IREN reported first quarter earnings per share of $1.08 on revenue of $240.3M, which compared to a loss per share of (27c) for the same period last year and analyst revenue estimates of $241.97M.

“IREN continues to execute with discipline, delivering record results this quarter and meaningful progress in our AI Cloud expansion,” said Roberts. “We secured several new multi-year contracts, including a landmark partnership with Microsoft, which solidifies IREN’s position as a leading AI Cloud Service Provider and expands our reach into new hyperscale customer segments. Looking ahead, our announced expansion to 140k GPUs represents only 16% of our 3GW grid-connected power portfolio, providing ample capacity to continue scaling IREN’s AI Cloud platform and drive long-term value creation.”

Following the report, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered the firm’s price target on IREN to $136 from $142 and kept an Overweight rating on the shares. The centerpiece of IREN’s earnings was its newly announced five-year, $9.7B deal with Microsoft for 200 MW of IT load at its Childress, Texas site, positioning the company as one of the world’s largest emerging neocloud providers, the analyst said. With significant remaining capacity and heightened credibility from the Microsoft partnership, additional large-scale deals appear likely in the near-term, Cantor said.

Q3 EARNINGS: On Tuesday, Hut 8 (HUT) reported Q3 EPS of 43c on a revenue of $83.5M, which compared to analyst consensus of a loss per share of (12c) on a revenue of $65.56M. As of September 30, the company had a strategic bitcoin reserve of 13,696 BTC with a market value of $1.6B. Hut 8 expanded its total hashrate to approximately 26.8 EH/s.

“In the third quarter, we reached an inflection point in the scale and maturity of our development flywheel,” said Asher Genoot, CEO. “We advanced 1,530 megawatts of capacity from exclusivity into development, underscoring both the depth of our pipeline and the scalability of our platform. Subject to commercialization, this portfolio has the potential to expand our Energy Capacity Under Management to more than 2.5 gigawatts, which would mark a step change in the scale and earnings power of our platform.”

Following the report, Cantor Fitzgerald raised the firm’s price target on Hut 8 to $64 from $24 and kept an Overweight rating on the shares. Hut 8’s 8.65 GW pipeline is one of the largest pipelines in the firm’s coverage, though most of this is “under diligence,” the analyst said. Riverbend remains the nearest term catalyst from its pipeline, but Hut 8 didn’t provide a real update on this though the company has been working on this site for nearly a year, Cantor added.

Clear Street raised the firm’s price target on Hut 8 to $60 from $33 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The firm expects contract signings and disciplined execution in 2026. The company appears well positioned to demonstrate the commercial value of its 1.6GW under development, setting the stage for re-rating as an emerging high performance computing infrastructure platform, the analyst said. The firm added that its updated price target accounts for Hut 8’s stake in American Bitcoin (ABTC), as well as the firm’s valuation for Hut’s pipeline.

Meanwhile, Northland raised the firm’s price target on Hut 8 to $58 from $26 and kept  an Outperform rating on the shares after Q3, which the firm calls a “solid quarter for ABTC with execution still needed on the HPC side.” With an 8.7 GW energy capacity pipeline, including 1.5 GW under development, the firm expects management to “capitalize on robust current demand and get something signed,” the analyst said.

Canaccord raised the firm’s price target on Hut 8 to $54 from $36 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The firm said its Q3 results were highlighted at the corporate level by the completion of the ABTC spinout and at the operational level by advancing more of the power portfolio closer to commercialization.

On Friday, American Bitcoin announced it has acquired approximately 139 bitcoin since October 24. As of November 5, the company held approximately 4,004 Bitcoin acquired through bitcoin mining and strategic purchases.

MARA Holdings (MARA) also reported Q3 earnings Tuesday with an EPS of 27c on a revenue of $252M, which compared to analyst estimates of 35c and $254.47M, respectively. Bitcoin holdings increased 98% YoY to 52,850 from 26,747 at the end of 3Q24.

MPLX LP (MPLX) and MARA Holdings also announced Tuesday the signing of a letter of intent for MPLX to facilitate supply of natural gas to planned integrated power generation facilities and state-of-the-art data center campuses in West Texas. Under the initiative, MPLX will facilitate natural gas supply from its Delaware basin natural gas processing plants to MARA’s planned gas-fired electricity generation facilities in West Texas, which will deliver reliable, scalable solutions for the region’s energy and computing needs. MARA will build multiple power generation facilities and data centers at locations near MPLX processing facilities across the Delaware basin, with an initial capacity of 400 MW and the potential to scale up to 1.5 GW. These power generation facilities will be supplied natural gas by MPLX and provide electricity for MARA’s planned data center campuses while also supplying power to MPLX’s West Texas operations, enhancing reliability for MPLX and its producer-customers.

Clear Street lowered the firm’s price target on MARA to $16 from $18 and kept a Hold rating on the shares. The firm is lowering its 2025-2027 revenue estimates by about 13% and adjusted EBITDA by about 25% to reflect bitcoin at $104,000. While stating that Mara Holdings shifting from an asset-light miner to a vertically integrated operator is a “sound” strategy, the firm noted that execution trails peers by roughly a year.

Cantor Fitzgerald lowered the firm’s price target on MARA to $21 from $30 and kept an Overweight rating on the shares. While Cantor gets the sense that MARA is extremely focused on diversifying its business, how it chooses to diversify remains to be seen, the firm said.

On Monday, Cipher Mining (CIFR) reported Q3 adjusted EPS of 10c on a revenue of $71.7M, which compared to analyst estimates of 11c on a revenue of $76.52M.

“The third quarter was truly transformative for Cipher,” said Tyler Page, CEO. “We executed a pivotal transaction with Fluidstack and Google, which firmly established our credibility in the HPC space. We are now following that transaction with another major step forward by signing our first direct lease with a Tier 1 hyperscaler.”

Cipher also announced(AMZN), to provide turnkey space and power for AI workloads. Under the terms of this lease agreement, Cipher will deliver 300 MW of capacity in 2026, including both air and liquid cooling to the racks. The capacity will be delivered in two phases, expected to begin in July 2026 and complete in the fourth quarter of 2026, with rent commencing in August 2026.

H.C. Wainwright raised the firm’s price target on Cipher Mining to $30 from $25 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. To the firm’s knowledge, this marks the first time a bitcoin miner has signed a major colocation deal directly with a hyperscaler, noted the analyst, who likes the deal for several reasons, including pricing, profitability and the view that it “significantly boosts Cipher’s credibility as a major player in the HPC/AI data center space.”

Clear Street raised the firm’s price target on Cipher Mining to $34 from $20 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The firm believes Cipher’s $5.5B deal with Amazon Web Services accelerates its pivot into artificial intelligence infrastructure. The agreement also diversifies the company beyond Fluidstack and reinforces its position as a leading provider of large-scale, high-density data center capacity, the analyst said. Clear Street believes the AWS lease provides “meaningful earnings visibility” and supports further multiple expansion of Cipher Mining shares.

OTHER CRYPTO NEWS: 

• Strategy (MSTR) acquires 397 bitcoin for $45.6M
• Strategy price target lowered to $443 from $537 at Clear Street, raised to $474 from $464 at Canaccord
• Hive Digital (HIVE) achieves 23 EH/s in global bitcoin-mining capacity
• Canaan (CAN) announces investment from Brevan Howard, Galaxy, Weiss Asset Management
• Bitmine Immersion (BMNR) reports $13.7B in total holdings
• Bit Digital (BTBT) reports October ETH holdings $590.5M
• Block (XYZ) reports Q3 bitcoin revenue $1.97B
• Bitcoin Depot (BTM) enters partnership to bring BTMs to 188 initial locations
• Digi Power X (DGXX) held cash, BTC, ETH, deposits of $85M as of October 31

CRYPTO STOCK PLAYS: Publicly traded companies in the space include Bit Digital, Coinbase, Core Scientific, Greenidge Generation (GREE), Mara Holdings, Strategy, Riot Platforms and TeraWulf (WULF).

PRICE ACTION: As of time of writing, bitcoin dropped roughly 8% this week to $100,540 in U.S. dollars, according to CoinDesk.