Cipher Digital shares have fallen nearly 19% to around $6.60 on Nov. 4 following Gina Hinojosa’s victory in the Texas governor’s race, after the Democrat campaigned for a moratorium on new data centers.
Summary
- CIFR traded near $6.60 on Wednesday morning before falling further in the session.
- Hinojosa has called for a pause on new data centers until lawmakers pass community protections.
- Cipher reported its first HPC lease revenue in quarterly results released on Nov. 2.
- Riot disclosed a $28 billion Corsicana lease covering 910 MW of critical IT capacity.
FinancialContent’s morning market data showed CIFR at $6.595, down 18.78%, at 10:28 a.m. EST. By 12:18 p.m., its delayed quote showed $6.465, a 20.38% decline, with shares having traded as low as $6.18.
The selling followed Hinojosa’s defeat of Republican incumbent Greg Abbott in Tuesday’s election. Texas Secretary of State election returns recorded her lead, while the Associated Press called the race for the Democrat.
Cipher Digital traders react to another double-digit swing
On X, trader Urkel highlighted the reversal from the previous session, writing that CIFR had been up approximately 18% before falling by a similar amount Wednesday.
“Some of these roller-coaster moves are insane,” he wrote.
His post included a $6.61 quote showing an 18.60% decline at 10:28 a.m. EST. A separate quote strip displayed $6.43, down 20.81%, capturing another point during the sell-off.
Technical trader The Great Mattsby identified $5.91 as a price where he intended to buy, sharing a chart alongside the comment. His proposed entry sat below the prices displayed in the posts and represented his trading preference.
Hinojosa wants lawmakers to set data center protections
In her campaign’s policy statement, Hinojosa called for an immediate moratorium lasting until the legislature could establish protections and give communities a say over whether and how data centers are developed.
She urged Abbott to issue an executive order and convene a special legislative session to end tax incentives for the industry.
Her stated proposal concerns new data centers. The page does not announce a blanket prohibition on bitcoin mining or order existing facilities to close.
Texas had already placed restrictions on development under Abbott. In a Sept. 21 directive, his office instructed the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to halt data center permits pending audits.
Abbott required projects to cover electrical infrastructure costs, report electricity and water use, and avoid using water needed by local communities. His office said he would work with lawmakers to eliminate financial incentives during the next legislative session.
Cipher’s first HPC revenue arrives as mining income falls
Cipher’s Nov. 2 earnings release reported $26.7 million in quarterly revenue, including $5.852 million from its first high-performance computing lease payments at Black Pearl.
Bitcoin mining contributed $20.849 million, down from $71.707 million a year earlier. The company recorded a $71.9 million operating loss, although a $127.2 million warrant valuation gain helped produce net income of $31.6 million.
Across its development pipeline, Cipher reported a conditional base load classification for 1 GW at Colchis through ERCOT’s Batch Zero process. Another 1.6 GW received conditional studied load classifications with provisional controllable load designations.
Its Barber Lake lease now runs for 20 years, with contracted revenue of approximately $9.1 billion. Cipher said construction remained on schedule under the amended agreement.
The company put its development pipeline at 5.9 GW and said it had begun developing natural gas pipelines capable of supporting up to 2.5 GW of potential on-site generation.
Riot discloses a $28 billion Corsicana agreement
Riot’s SEC-filed presentation detailed a 15-year powered land lease with an unnamed leading frontier AI lab for its Corsicana campus.
The agreement covers 910 MW of critical IT capacity and carries approximately $28 billion in initial contract value. Riot estimates average annual rent of $1.8 billion, including contractual escalators.
Under the arrangement, Riot provides land, powered pads, and electrical infrastructure. The tenant procures, installs, and operates the computing modules and bears utility and operating costs.
Riot estimated total capital requirements of $5.5 billion, comprising tenant reimbursements and site infrastructure work.
Its delivery schedule calls for 400 MW by September 2027, another 200 MW by January 2028, and the remaining 310 MW by July 2028. Rent begins as each powered pad is delivered, subject to a possible delay of up to 60 days if the tenant’s modules are not installed.
