Shares of former Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) miners pivoting into AI data center and high performance computing hosting have taken a heavy hit over the past month. IREN (NASDAQ:IREN), TeraWulf (NASDAQ:WULF), and Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) are all down more than 30% over the trailing month, and the selling has continued into Wednesday afternoon trading.
IREN stock is down 33% over the past month, TeraWulf shares are down 38%, and Applied Digital shares are off 36%. IREN stock is trading at $31.67 midday, TeraWulf shares changed hands at $16.18, and Applied Digital shares sat at $24.62.
The Global X Data Center & Digital Infrastructure ETF (NASDAQ:DTCR) has fared much better, as it’s down 13% over the past month. The gap between the ETF and the individual names is the story.
A Sector-Wide Re-Pricing
The decline in IREN, TeraWulf, and Applied Digital shares reflects a broader re-pricing across AI infrastructure and data center names, as capex fatigue, rising financing and credit costs, and a fresh memory and semiconductor rout have all bitten into high-beta plays this month.
These three companies are especially sensitive because each is mid-pivot from bitcoin mining into GPU-powered AI and high-performance computing (HPC) hosting. That transition has been the entire bull thesis for IREN, TeraWulf, and Applied Digital shares, so any cooling in AI-infrastructure enthusiasm hits their valuations harder than it hits diversified data center REITs.
The beta figures confirm the sensitivity. IREN carries a five-year monthly beta of 4.28, and Applied Digital’s beta sits at 5.68 while TeraWulf carries a beta of 4.26. When sentiment turns, these stocks can move multiples of the market.
Valuation and the Debate on More Downside
On valuation, IREN stock trades at a TTM (trailing 12-month) P/E ratio of 39.83x, which isn’t unreasonable relative to the group. TeraWulf and Applied Digital have no TTM P/E ratio given their bottom-line losses, so the market is pricing them almost entirely on contracted capacity and forward AI hosting revenue.
That framing cuts both ways. The bulls argue the trailing declines have already reset momentum and that IREN stock, still up 94% over the past year, and Applied Digital shares, up 139%, remain long-term winners on the AI buildout. The bears counter that with financing costs climbing and hyperscaler capex under scrutiny, high-beta pivot names are the first to get sold when the theme wobbles.
Retail sentiment reflects the pain. Reddit chatter on IREN has migrated to r/WallStreetBets with a “very bearish” tone, and one viral loss post titled “120k > 20k > 120K > 15k on IREN and IRE” has drawn 253 upvotes and 103 comments. That’s capitulation language.
Why the ETF Held Up Better
The DTCR ETF’s structure explains the gap. Its top holdings are diversified infrastructure REITs and semiconductor names. Applied Digital is inside this ETF, but only at 3.2% of the fund’s assets.
The Global X Data Center & Digital Infrastructure ETF carries 30 positions with meaningful international exposure through names like NEXTDC and GDS, so a rout in U.S. AI-miner pivots gets diluted. The ETF isn’t leveraged, which matters when the underlying names see daily swings of 10%.
What to Watch Now
The key question is whether the AI-infrastructure trade holds bid through earnings season. Investors can watch the DTCR ETF’s relative strength, credit spreads on data center financing, and hyperscaler capex commentary from the mega-cap tech names reporting this week. These are indicators of whether the group finds a floor or takes another leg down.
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