Cipher Digital Stock Plunges: What's Happening?

Cipher Digital Inc (NASDAQ:CIFR) shares are plummeting Thursday. Selling pressure is seemingly hitting data-center and AI infrastructure stocks. Cipher Digital stock is among today’s weakest performers. What’s behind CIFR decline? Cipher Digital Falls 8.31% as AI Infrastructure Stocks Slide Rising bond yields and sector weakness are weighing on data-center and AI infrastructure companies, and Cipher Digital is feeling it. Formerly Cipher Mining, the company operates industrial-scale data centers that it first built for Bitcoin mining. It is now steering toward high-performance computing (HPC) and AI infrastructure. Two forces are pinching the group, which includes former Bitcoin miners that now operate as AI data-center landlords. Bitcoin keeps sliding, and long-term borrowing costs keep rising for companies that finance their buildouts with debt. Moreover, The Financial Times reported that OpenAI’s annualized revenue run rate is roughly $20 billion below what the company had previously indicated. That news has amplified the selling pressure on AI-related names Thursday afternoon. Rising Treasury Yields Squeeze AI Data-Center Borrowers Bond yields are also adding to the strain. The 30-year Treasury yield climbed more than 4 basis points to 5.705% Thursday morning, Trading Economics data shows, after hovering just under a 24-year high the day before. The 10-year yield reached its highest level since 2002 on Wednesday. Federal Reserve minutes showed officials expect another rate hike before year-end, and investors are wagering on a move on Dec. 9. Higher yields hit the group twice. They make debt more expensive, and they shrink the present value of long-dated lease income. CIFR Shares Are Tumbling CIFR Price Action: Cipher shares were down 10.58% at $13.02 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro. Read Also: Bitcoin Tumbles to $82,000 but $205,000 Remains the Target, Analyst Says Image: PJ McDonnell/Shutterstock