Why Is Cipher Digital Stock Rising On Thursday?

Cipher Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:CIFR) stock rose on Thursday as investors revalued the company toward a pure-play Artificial Intelligence (AI) and High-Performance Computing (HPC) hosting model.

The transition to a data center infrastructure model decoupled the equity from the broader cryptocurrency market downturn.

AI Pivot Versus Crypto Decline

While pure-play digital asset equities declined, CIFR increased as much as 10% on Thursday.

This divergence occurred as Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) fell 5.46% over a 24-hour period to $62,299.72, according to CoinMarketCap data.

The total cryptocurrency market capitalization decreased 4.52% to $2.15 trillion, pressured in part by the Federal Open Market Committee decision led by Kevin Warsh on Wednesday.

Leadership Expansion and Grid Strategy

The gains followed Tuesday's announcement that the company appointed Bill Blevins as head of Grid Strategies to strengthen its power and grid capabilities.

Blevins possesses more than 30 years of power systems experience, including prior service as Director of Grid Coordination at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).

Short Interest Data

Recent exchange data indicated a decline in short interest during the latest reporting period. Short positions fell from 54.81 million shares to 52.53 million shares, representing 15.67% of the company's publicly available float.

Based on an average daily volume of 22.50 million shares, the short interest ratio stands at 2.33 days to cover.

CIFR Stock: Key Levels and Momentum Indicators

From a trend perspective, CIFR is extended but still technically constructive: it's trading 22.6% above its 20-day SMA ($23.90) and 71.2% above its 200-day SMA ($17.11), which is the kind of separation you typically see in strong momentum runs. The 20-day SMA remains above the 50-day SMA, and the stock is also holding a golden-cross backdrop (50-day above 200-day) that first appeared in July 2025.

Thursday's push also puts the stock above its prior 52-week high ($28.62), with the current price ($29.53). Over the last 12 months, the stock's 669.50% run helps explain why breakouts and pullbacks can both be sharp—this is a name traders tend to treat as momentum-first.

• Key Resistance: $29.53
• Key Support: $23.90

CIFR Stock Price Activity: Cipher Digital shares were up 12.05% at $29.52 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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