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Jane Street Takes 5% Stake In BTC Miner Cipher Mining That Eric Jackson Bet On

Benzinga·10/24/2025 06:58:01
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Cipher Mining Inc. (NASDAQ:CIFR) has captured the market’s attention after quantitative trading behemoth Jane Street Group, LLC disclosed a 5% passive stake in the company. The Schedule 13G filing, detailing an aggregate 19.68 million share position, was first highlighted in an SEC filing dated Oct. 24.

CIFR surged after-hours. Check out the price here.

Eric Jackson, Daniel Newman Make A Bullish Case For CIFR

Jane Street’s move comes amid a fierce debate over CIFR’s valuation, which has been bet on by prominent bulls, including Eric Jackson of EMJ Capital. Not only CIFR, but Jane Street also disclosed a 5% stake in Hut 8 Corp. (NASDAQ:HUT) as per its SEC filing, just after Jackson announced a new long position in that firm.  

This investor group, which also includes the CEO of Futurum Group, Daniel Newman, is reframing CIFR from a Bitcoin miner into a key “AI utility powerhouse.”

Newman has publicly called CIFR his “#1 AI utility play,” citing the company’s $5 billion market cap, $1.3 billion in cash, “zero debt,” and a pipeline of major megawatt deals to service the “insatiable demand for AI capacity.”

Rittenhouse Research Mocks Jane Street For CIFR Position

The investment immediately drew sharp, sarcastic reactions. An X post by Rittenhouse Research saying, “they intend to hold this position for years, maybe even decades!” mocked the idea that Jane Street, a firm known for proprietary trading and market-making, was acting as a “fundamental, long-duration value investor.”

Rittenhouse suggested the position is more likely part of a “delta-neutral options strategy” rather than a simple long-term bet.

In a CoinDesk report from May, Rittenhouse Research’s note on Galaxy Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GLXY) highlighted Cipher Mining’s struggles to pivot to AI, quoting CEO Tyler Page on the difficulty of convincing $1 trillion-market-cap counterparties. They contrast this with Galaxy’s successful transition.

See Also: OPEN, IREN And Now HUT: Eric Jackson Takes Long Position In Hut 8, Citing Pivot To AI Infrastructure

Short Seller Scrutinized Blatant CIFR Promotion

This intense promotion has also attracted high-profile skeptics and highlighted unusual market dynamics. Famed short-seller Jim Chanos, who has criticized the “ridiculous assumptions” in the sector’s bull case, recently aimed at Mike Alfred, a director at competitor IREN Ltd. (NASDAQ:IREN).

Chanos publicly questioned the IREN director, asking if his board was “comfortable with you openly promoting the stock of a competitor? $CIFR.” Alfred has repeatedly posted bullishly about CIFR, including speculating about a potential deal with Oracle.

CIFR Has Delivered Staggering Returns In 2025

Shares of CIFR closed 7.11% on Thursday at $17.26 per share, and it rose 8.49% in after-hours trading. The stock has advanced 257.25% year-to-date and 208.68% over the year.

CIFR maintained a stronger price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings. Additional performance details are available here.

Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings for CIFR.

On Friday, the futures of the S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq 100 indices were trading higher.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, the S&P 500 index ended 0.58% higher at 6,738.44, whereas the Nasdaq 100 index rose 0.88% to 25,097.42. On the other hand, Dow Jones advanced 0.31% to end at 46,734.61.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Photo courtesy: Shutterstock