Mining Stocks Opt for AI Over Bitcoin, Market Cap Drops by 800 Billion in a Day

Core Scientific Inc. (NASDAQ: CORZ) shares closed at $22.55 on May 7, down 8.44% on the day, leaving the company with a market capitalization of roughly $7.1 billion (about KRW 10 trillion) amid heavy trading.

In a single session, approximately $550 million (around KRW 800 billion) in value was wiped out, sharply dampening near-term investor sentiment.

The sell-off was driven by Q1 2026 results showing a net loss of about $347.2 million, a 45% decline in Bitcoin production and a steep drop in mining revenue. Shares traded lower even before the market opened, as investors reacted to the disappointing performance.

During the quarter, Core Scientific sold 2,385 BTC for roughly $208 million (around KRW 290 billion) and issued $3.3 billion (about KRW 4 trillion) in corporate bonds to fund the conversion of its Bitcoin-mining facilities into AI data centers, underscoring its strategic pivot.

Founded in 2017 as a U.S. Bitcoin-mining and digital-infrastructure firm, Core Scientific filed for Chapter 11 protection at the end of 2022 amid a Bitcoin price crash and rising debt. After restructuring, it relisted on Nasdaq.

Today, the company operates ten data centers across seven U.S. states and is swiftly transitioning from Bitcoin mining to AI and high-performance computing services. It has also signed a roughly $10 billion, long-term AI infrastructure agreement with CoreWeave, marking its evolution from a mining operation into a growth-oriented AI infrastructure provider.