Investing.com -- Concerns about a slowing U.S. economy have cast a shadow over risk assets, but further weakness could bring about lower rates, pushing crypto prices higher, Macquarie said.
"We see crypto as made for volatile macro, while any concern around a slower US economy could drive rates lower — also supportive of crypto prices," analysts from Macquarie said in a report Tuesday.
The bank’s analysis comes as Bitcoin miners under its coverage mostly delivered better-than-expected results for the fourth quarter of 2024, buoyed by Bitcoin’s strength during that period.
Several miners who had previously identified AI as an expansion opportunity are now progressing or accelerating their operations in this area.
Core Scientific Inc (NASDAQ: CORZ ), has an additional 70 MW of critical IT load available and is in discussions with potential new hyperscaler and enterprise clients.
Cipher Mining Inc (NASDAQ: CIFR ) and Riot Platforms (NASDAQ: RIOT ), meanwhile, are also actively pursuing opportunities in the high-performance computing, or HPC, and AI sectors.
Riot has halted its Corsicana Phase II mining expansion to accommodate HPC/AI initiatives, with 600MW of idle capacity available.
Despite the recent weakness in bitcoin prices, the analysts remain optimistic about the sector’s outlook, maintaining their outperform ratings across its miners under coverage.
"Notwithstanding recent btc price weakness, we see cost discipline and progress being made by those focused on the HPC/ AI adjacency continuing to support the outlook for these players," the analysts added.