Bitcoin’s Rally Leaves AI Tokens Behind in Crypto Markets

August’s rebound in crypto did more than lift prices—it reshuffled attention toward the companies most exposed to Bitcoin and Ether beta. Bitcoin miners are again trading like a levered play on BTC, while corporate treasuries continue to add to their holdings during the same recovery window.

At the same time, traditional finance is moving closer to stablecoins for settlement and payments. And in Ethereum’s market, Bitmine’s persistent spot buying has pushed it close to a major share-of-supply milestone.

Key takeaways

• Bitcoin miner stocks surged in August after a stretch where investors favored AI- and HPC-oriented infrastructure plays.
• Strive and Strategy added thousands of BTC in late August, extending a corporate “buy the dip” pattern as digital-asset risk appetite returned.
• A consortium of 21 major financial institutions is planning a G7 stablecoin initiative with a targeted launch in the first half of 2027.
• Bitmine’s 65-week ETH buying streak has lifted its holdings to about 4.9% of Ethereum’s circulating supply, nearing its 5% goal.

Miners regain leverage as BTC rallies

Bitcoin’s rally in late August helped reverse a prior trend that had benefited some miners less than others. According to BlocksBridge Consulting, Bitcoin-linked mining equities rose sharply—up as much as 67%—at a time when the market had been more focused on miners pivoting toward AI-driven demand.

BlocksBridge reported that Bitcoin’s roughly 23% jump in late August outperformed much of the AI-linked infrastructure space. It cited gains ranging from about 41% to 67% for Canaan, American Bitcoin, and Cango, compared with around 21% for CoreWeave, 17% for Nebius, and 15% for IREN. Other miners with greater exposure to AI and high-performance computing were flat or declined.

The newsletter pointed to several drivers behind the miner rebound: expanding US Treasury-related buybacks that support liquidity, renewed regulatory optimism following a White House meeting on crypto, and a short squeeze that BlocksBridge said liquidated more than $1.6 billion in positions.

For investors, the message is straightforward: when BTC momentum returns, the market appears willing to reward direct exposure and operational leverage again. Still, BlocksBridge also flagged a lingering risk for the sector—high costs tied to scaling AI data-center capacity. That tension helps explain why AI-forward strategies may not always capture the same upside during pure BTC-driven rallies.

Strive and Strategy extend BTC treasury buying

Corporate treasuries were another focal point during the recovery. In the final week of August, Strive and Strategy both made additional Bitcoin purchases that pushed their holdings higher and reinforced the idea that balance-sheet conviction is still alive.

Strive bought 1,800 BTC for approximately $143 million, per earlier reporting, lifting its holdings to 23,156 BTC. The company paid an average of $79,431 per BTC (including fees and expenses) after purchasing 1,110 BTC the prior week at an average price of $73,409.

Strategy, meanwhile, acquired 4,603 BTC at an average price of $80,318. Those purchases lifted its holdings above 845,000 BTC after four sales since May, according to the same coverage. Together, the two companies illustrate how the late-August bounce translated into concrete treasury actions rather than purely speculative positioning.

BlocksBridge-linked commentary also tied the timing to a broader digital-asset recovery that began Aug. 19 after the US Treasury announced plans to double certain long-term bond buybacks. While that doesn’t “explain” every corporate decision, it provides context for the return of risk appetite across markets—including crypto.

Stablecoins move toward a G7 push for 2027

Beyond BTC and ETH, stablecoin development is drawing renewed momentum from traditional financial institutions. A consortium of 21 major firms—including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Citi—plans to establish a new company to develop and issue stablecoins, representing another step in the long-running effort to build “digital dollars” for real-world payment rails.

The group intends to launch a US dollar-denominated stablecoin in the first half of 2027, with plans to expand to other G7 currencies afterward—starting with a euro offering. The stated objective is to support wholesale, institutional, and retail use cases, including cross-border payments and digital-asset settlement.

The stablecoin initiative builds on an earlier announcement from last October, when 10 banks explored a 1:1 reserve-backed form of digital money on public blockchains. The consortium now spans regions including North America, Europe, East Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, and aims to comply with both the US GENIUS Act and the EU’s MiCA framework.

For market participants, this matters because stablecoin issuance and distribution directly affect on-chain settlement liquidity, off-ramp/on-ramp rails, and how quickly traditional counterparties can connect to tokenized assets. The 2027 target also provides a concrete timeline for builders and compliance teams watching regulatory clarity in major jurisdictions.

Bitmine nears 5% of ETH circulating supply

In the Ethereum segment, Bitmine’s accumulation pace remains unusually persistent. The company extended its ETH buying streak to 65 consecutive weeks, adding 53,501 ETH in the latest reported period as broader crypto prices recovered.

As a result, Bitmine’s holdings rose to more than 5.9 million ETH, valued at roughly $14.8 billion based on an ETH price of $2,511 as of Sunday, in line with the figures reported in the earlier coverage. That put Bitmine’s stake at approximately 4.9% of Ethereum’s 120.7 million circulating supply—leaving it close to its stated 5% goal.

Bitmine chairman Tom Lee said Ether, Bitcoin, and Solana were the three best-performing major assets since June 30, with ETH leading gains. He also argued that the relative performance against other macro assets should encourage institutions to add to their crypto holdings.

Still, the accumulation has not erased the accounting reality of a drawdown recovery story. According to DropsTab data referenced in the report, Bitmine is sitting on about $5.1 billion in unrealized losses on its Ether holdings—reflecting sustained buying through a downturn that began in late 2022. The company’s willingness to keep absorbing that gap while the market rebounds is central to why its supply share has climbed despite volatility.

What to watch next

With miners responding sharply to BTC momentum, treasuries continuing to add during recovery phases, and major institutions pushing stablecoin plans toward 2027, the next signal will be whether these themes hold as volatility returns—particularly whether AI-linked infrastructure continues to lag (or catch up) when Bitcoin’s direction changes.