$1 Billion Pressure Ends: Mining Stocks Surge 20% Following Citadel Move
A massive rally in Bitcoin mining and artificial intelligence stocks ensued following the forced liquidation of a $1 billion portfolio held by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner’s hedge fund and Citadel’s subsequent acquisition of these shares.
Shares of major companies operating in the cryptocurrency mining and artificial intelligence (AI) data center infrastructure sectors recorded a sharp increase as significant selling pressure in the market dissipated. According to information shared by CNBC, the hedge fund Situational Awareness, managed by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner, was forced to liquidate its public stock portfolio valued at approximately $1 billion. Following these forced sales, which the fund conducted to meet margin calls, investment giant Citadel purchased a large portion of the shares, injecting strong confidence into the market.
Following this development, IREN (IREN) shares led the rally with a 27% gain. Similarly, shares of Bitdeer (BTDR), Riot Platforms (RIOT), CleanSpark (CLSK), Core Scientific (CORZ), and HIVE Digital (HIVE) also saw increases of over 20%. This sharp recovery, following weeks of intense selling pressure, cleared the pessimistic atmosphere in the sector and was replaced by upward momentum.
Mining Stocks Surge Sharply on Citadel Purchases
According to the fund’s data as of the end of March, there were substantial positions in the liquidated portfolio. Situational Awareness held 11.7 million IREN shares, 26 million Core Scientific shares, and 11.5 million Riot Platforms shares. Additionally, the portfolio included 12.3 million CleanSpark shares, along with 3.4 million shares each of Bitdeer and HIVE Digital. The end of this massive selling pressure and the intervention of an institutional giant like Citadel was regarded by investors as a significant endorsement of the sector’s future.
Aschenbrenner’s investment strategy was based on the thesis that energy and data center capacity would gain critical importance with the growth of artificial intelligence. Consequently, the fund focused on companies in both Bitcoin mining and high-performance computing. This recent rally has once again proven the impact of institutional investors’ long-term confidence in AI and cryptocurrency infrastructure on market dynamics.