Bitcoin Miners Drop Over 12% as Hot Inflation Data Triggers Worst Stock Selloff Since July

TLDR

• The S&P 500 fell 1.1% and the Nasdaq dropped 1.9% on Wednesday, their worst daily losses since July.
• TeraWulf, Core Scientific, Cipher Mining and IREN each fell more than 12%.
• US consumer prices rose 3.7% in September, above the 3.6% economists expected.
• The odds of an October Fed rate hike briefly topped 50% after the inflation report.
• San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said more hikes are likely needed, but there is no urgency to act this month.

US stocks had their worst day since July on Wednesday after a hotter-than-expected inflation report. Technology and AI infrastructure companies took the biggest hits, and Bitcoin miners were among those hit hardest.

The S&P 500 fell 1.1%, its largest one-day drop since July 29. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.9%, its biggest daily decline since July 23.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average held up better. It slipped just 0.1% by the end of the day.

AI Infrastructure Stocks Lead the Decline

Data center operator CoreWeave was one of the worst performers among major tech names, falling 16%. AI infrastructure provider Nebius dropped 11%, while Oracle lost 9%.

The selling was broad across the sector. Of the 23 stocks tracked by PRISM’s AI Data Center and Infrastructure Index, 21 fell on Wednesday.

The average loss across the index was 7.46%.

Many AI infrastructure companies rely heavily on debt to build new data centers. Higher interest rates could raise their borrowing costs.

Bitcoin Miners Fall More Than 12%

The losses spread to Bitcoin miners. Several of these companies have also expanded into AI infrastructure.

TeraWulf led the decline among miners, falling 12.64%. Core Scientific dropped 12.44%, Cipher Mining fell 12.35% and IREN lost 12.2%.

Other miners also ended the day lower. Riot Platforms, Bitdeer Technologies, MARA and CleanSpark all posted losses.

Bitcoin itself came under pressure as well. The price dipped below $82,000 as high oil prices pushed inflation higher.

US consumer prices rose 3.7% in September compared with a year earlier. Economists had expected a 3.6% increase.

The figure is well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Higher gasoline prices linked to the war in the Middle East were the main cause.

The report raised expectations that the Fed could raise interest rates in October. The implied probability of a hike briefly passed 50% on Wednesday before falling back.

San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly offered a more patient view. She told Reuters that further rate hikes are likely needed to bring inflation under control, but there is no urgency to act this month.

“I don’t feel urgent that we have to decide with a limited set of information. I think we have the time that we need,” Daly said.

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