Shares of pure-play bitcoin miners jumped sharply on Thursday, tracking bitcoin’s climb toward record highs and benefiting from a potential investor rotation out of AI and HPC mining names.

Pure Bitcoin Miners Outperform

MARA Holdings (MARA) surged 10% and CleanSpark (CLSK) advanced 17%, leading gains among constituents of the CoinShares Bitcoin Mining ETF. The rally marked a strong rebound for pure bitcoin miners, which have trailed peers that diversified into the high-growth data center segment.

Bitcoin Rally Sets the Tone

The move comes as bitcoin (BTC) traded around $115,700, up 2.2% on the day and less than 5% below its all-time high, after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates. With BTC edging toward $118,000, investors appear to be positioning for a historically strong year-end performance, which has often delivered some of bitcoin’s best returns.

Companies with large BTC holdings are viewed as leveraged beneficiaries of such momentum. MARA and CleanSpark hold 52,477 BTC ($6.2 billion) and 12,703 BTC ($1.5 billion), respectively. MicroStrategy (MSTR), the largest corporate bitcoin holder, also gained 7% on Thursday.

Rotation From AI and HPC Miners

Another factor may be profit-taking in AI and HPC-linked miners, which have posted extraordinary gains in recent months. Bitfarms (BITF) soared 150% in September, while Iren Energy (IREN) surged more than 600% since April and Cipher Mining (CIFR) climbed 500% over the same period.

Signs of rotation emerged Thursday as CIFR fell 7% and IREN slipped 4%, while capital appeared to shift into the lagging pure-play bitcoin mining segment.