Bitcoin Miners Rally in Pre-Market as Sector Nears $90B Market Cap

Bitcoin (BTC) miners are extending gains in pre-market trading as the artificial intelligence and high-performance computing (AI/HPC) boom accelerates, particularly benefiting those pivoting their operations toward AI infrastructure. IREN (IREN) is up 4% at $66 after a 6% rise on Thursday, now up more than 520% year-to-date. TerraWulf (WULF) is 5% higher pre-market after a 10% surge on Thursday, bringing its YTD gain to 150%. Other notable movers include Cipher Mining (CIFR) CleanSpark (CLSK) and Bitfarms (BITF), which all trade 2%-4% higher in pre-market. The total market capitalization of the miners is nearing $90 billion, according to Farside data, and on this current trend could surpass $100 billion by year-end if current momentum continues. The sector is also benefiting from broader trends, with Bloomberg reporting that Microsoft’s (MSFT) data center shortages will persist into 2026 due to soaring cloud and AI demand. Despite adding as much as two gigawatts of new capacity, Microsoft is still struggling to scale infrastructure quickly enough to meet demand. As the growing demand for high-performance infrastructure continues, this is boosting optimism around bitcoin miners expanding into AI and data centers.