{"id":339457,"date":"2026-02-16T01:18:29","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T01:18:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/339457\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T01:18:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T01:18:29","slug":"this-crypto-miner-is-the-real-infrastructure-play-of-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/339457\/","title":{"rendered":"This Crypto Miner Is the Real Infrastructure Play of 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">Crypto mining stocks are hot right now, but not for the reason you might think. With the price of <strong>Bitcoin<\/strong> (CRYPTO: BTC) taking a nosedive below the $100,000 price level, crypto mining companies are now making a pivot from Bitcoin into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fool.com\/terms\/a\/artificial-intelligence\/?utm_source=yahoo-host-full&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;referring_guid=847b36ad-fb57-4e63-b2b5-54a4cf2266c8\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:artificial intelligence;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">artificial intelligence<\/a> (AI).<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">Smaller Bitcoin mining companies have the edge here, given their ability to turn on a dime, and one of the companies on my radar right now is <strong>TeraWulf<\/strong>\u00a0(NASDAQ: WULF), an AI-focused Bitcoin miner with a market cap of $7 billion. The company&#8217;s stock is up 52% year to date, and more than 240% over the past year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><strong>Will AI create the world&#8217;s first trillionaire?<\/strong>\u00a0Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an &#8220;Indispensable Monopoly&#8221; providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/api.fool.com\/infotron\/infotrack\/click?apikey=35527423-a535-4519-a07f-20014582e03e&amp;impression=521091a3-1380-4b70-a65f-94499e7cd061&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fa-sa-ai-boom-nvidias%3Faid%3D10891%26source%3Disaediica0000069%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-ai-boom%26ftm_veh%3Dtop_incontent_pitch_feed_yahoo%26ftm_pit%3D18914&amp;utm_source=yahoo-host-full&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;referring_guid=847b36ad-fb57-4e63-b2b5-54a4cf2266c8\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Continue \u00bb;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><strong>Continue \u00bb<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">Long story short, much of the massive computing power used to mine Bitcoin can now be used to power AI projects. And that&#8217;s starting to excite a lot of Wall Street investment firms. <strong>Morgan Stanley<\/strong>, for example, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fool.com\/coverage\/stock-market-today\/2026\/02\/09\/stock-market-today-feb-9-terawulf-jumps-after-morgan-stanley-initiates-coverage-with-bullish-ai-view\/?utm_source=yahoo-host-full&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;referring_guid=847b36ad-fb57-4e63-b2b5-54a4cf2266c8\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:recently initiated coverage of the Bitcoin mining sector;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">recently initiated coverage of the Bitcoin mining sector<\/a>, with a focus on finding undervalued AI infrastructure plays.<\/p>\n<p>    <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/03d2426b8861c52dbccdae8610cf50a4.jpeg\" alt=\"AI code on computer screen.\" loading=\"eager\" height=\"540\" width=\"960\" class=\"yf-lglytj  loaded\"\/> Image source: Getty Images.      <\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">Not surprisingly, TeraWulf was one of those potential AI infrastructure plays. Morgan Stanley emphasized TeraWulf&#8217;s ability to execute on large-scale power infrastructure projects. Think: lots and lots of high-end data centers, all powering the latest AI innovations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">Plans call for TeraWulf continuing to grow its AI infrastructure footprint through 2030. As long as the demand for AI compute remains high, TeraWulf should continue to soar.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">Until late 2024, any growth estimates for TeraWulf would have been primarily tied to its ability to scale its Bitcoin mining operations. At the end of the day, TeraWulf would have been valued based on how much Bitcoin it held on its balance sheet, as well as how much higher the price of Bitcoin might soar in the future.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">But TeraWulf has been shedding Bitcoin to help finance its AI compute operations. It&#8217;s simply more profitable to be in the AI business right now than in the Bitcoin business. That&#8217;s raising an interesting question for investors: Should the company be valued as a Bitcoin miner, or as an AI infrastructure play?<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">If the answer is &#8220;Bitcoin miner,&#8221; then the upside of TeraWulf may be significantly capped, given that it owns a minimal amount of Bitcoin right now. But if the answer is &#8220;AI infrastructure play,&#8221; then the sky&#8217;s the limit. Morgan Stanley, for example, thinks TeraWulf could hit a price target of $37. That&#8217;s more than double its current price of $17.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">There are other Bitcoin mining companies making the same pivot to AI, but TeraWulf is among the best. It&#8217;s hard to argue with a stock that&#8217;s up more than 240% in 12 months.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">Before you buy stock in TeraWulf, consider this:<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/api.fool.com\/infotron\/infotrack\/click?apikey=35527423-a535-4519-a07f-20014582e03e&amp;impression=83966053-10f2-494d-bd8e-5a6c4a82999d&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-sa-bbn-dyn-headline%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0001181%26company%3DTeraWulf%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_veh%3Darticle_pitch_feed_yahoo%26ftm_pit%3D18781&amp;utm_source=yahoo-host-full&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;referring_guid=847b36ad-fb57-4e63-b2b5-54a4cf2266c8\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:10 best stocks;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">10 best stocks<\/a><\/strong> for investors to buy now\u2026 and TeraWulf wasn\u2019t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">Consider when <strong>Netflix<\/strong> made this list on December 17, 2004&#8230; if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation,\u00a0<strong>you\u2019d have $414,554<\/strong>!* Or when <strong>Nvidia<\/strong> made this list on April 15, 2005&#8230; if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, <strong>you\u2019d have $1,120,663<\/strong>!*<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">Now, it\u2019s worth noting\u00a0Stock Advisor\u2019s total average return is 884% \u2014 a market-crushing outperformance compared to 193% for the S&amp;P 500.\u00a0<strong>Don&#8217;t miss the latest top 10 list, available with\u00a0Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/api.fool.com\/infotron\/infotrack\/click?apikey=35527423-a535-4519-a07f-20014582e03e&amp;impression=83966053-10f2-494d-bd8e-5a6c4a82999d&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-sa-bbn-dyn-headline%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0001181%26company%3DTeraWulf%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D18781%26ftm_veh%3Darticle_pitch_feed_yahoo%26company%3DTeraWulf&amp;utm_source=yahoo-host-full&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;referring_guid=847b36ad-fb57-4e63-b2b5-54a4cf2266c8\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:See the 10 stocks \u00bb;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\"><strong>See the 10 stocks \u00bb<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">*Stock Advisor returns as of February 15, 2026. <\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fool.com\/author\/20546\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Dominic Basulto;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Dominic Basulto<\/a> has positions in Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fool.com\/legal\/fool-disclosure-policy\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:disclosure policy;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">disclosure policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fool.com\/investing\/2026\/02\/15\/forget-ai-stocks-this-crypto-miner-is-the-real-inf\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Forget AI Stocks: This Crypto Miner Is the Real Infrastructure Play of 2026;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Forget AI Stocks: This Crypto Miner Is the Real Infrastructure Play of 2026<\/a> was originally published by The Motley Fool<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Crypto mining stocks are hot right now, but not for the reason you might think. With the price&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":339458,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[261],"tags":[291,289,290,41813,18,19,17,3906,82,161079],"class_list":["post-339457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-bitcoin-mining","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-morgan-stanley","tag-technology","tag-the-price-of-bitcoin"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116077677965651074","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=339457"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339457\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/339458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=339457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=339457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=339457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}