According to the Public Utility Commission of Texas, shares of bitcoin miners with large Texas operations surged Thursday after regulators approved ERCOT's new "Batch Zero" grid capacity allocation framework. Cipher Digital (CIFR) reached an all-time high of $30 today, up over 10%, while Core Scientific (CORZ) and Riot Platforms (RIOT) gained 3% and 2.2%, respectively.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas developed the new batch evaluation system to accelerate the approval process for large electricity users, as over 438,000 megawatts of proposed demand currently queue for connection, with roughly 90% from AI data centers. The framework allows regulators to assess how projects interact with each other and the existing grid, identifying needed transmission upgrades.