Texas Grid Reform Lifts Cipher to $30 ATH as Miners Pivot to AI

Texas regulators approved ERCOT’s new “Batch Zero” framework on June 18 2026, accelerating grid connections for data-center projects and boosting bitcoin miners shifting into AI and high-performance computing. Cipher Digital surged 10.74% to an all-time high of $30, while Core Scientific gained 3% and Riot Platforms added 2.2%. The move addresses Texas’s massive 438,000 MW interconnection queue, nearly 90% of which comes from data centers, with miners already securing major hyperscaler deals such as Cipher’s $5.5 billion AWS contract and Core Scientific reporting $78 million in Q1 colocation revenue—more than double its bitcoin-mining revenue.