CoinShares Index Falls 6.6% as Mining-Linked Stocks Drop Over 30%

By Daniel Okafor

The CoinShares Blockchain Global Equity Index, known as the BLOCK Index, fell 6.6% over the week, compared with a 2.1% decline in Bitcoin (BTC), according to CoinShares' index data. The gap returned data-center approvals and power costs to the center of the mining-equity story.

Cipher Digital fell 31.5%, IREN dropped 31.3% and Hut 8 declined 30.8% over seven days. Riot Platforms rose 7.4% over the same seven-day period. The stock figures use a seven-day window; the BLOCK Index and Bitcoin comparison covers the week. Investors should retain that measurement difference when comparing the returns rather than treating every figure as identical.

What does the divergence show?

CoinShares' account says the mining-linked stock losses put data-center approvals and power costs in focus. Those issues translate into operating constraints. Slower approvals can extend the wait for projects awaiting clearance, while higher power costs can weigh on the economics of power-intensive developments.

The 7.4% rise at Riot Platforms shows that the group did not move uniformly. Its gain complicates any reading of the other declines as a uniform verdict on mining-linked equities. CoinShares links the losses to the Texas policy debate and its operating risks, while the performance data records each company's seven-day result separately.

What has Hinojosa proposed?

Texas Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa pledged before the election to pause new data-center approvals until lawmakers establish protections for residents. Texas has not implemented the proposed pause. The difference between a pre-election pledge and an operative approval rule matters for project timing: no new-approval pause currently governs Texas, but pending developments could face a longer review if lawmakers adopt the promised protections.

The proposal's stated trigger is legislative action establishing resident protections. That makes the next policy checkpoint dependent on lawmakers rather than the election result alone. For projects still awaiting clearance, the proposed review could delay deployment even though Texas has not implemented the pause.

Which sites already have approvals?

Several named sites already have approved power interconnections. They are Riot's Rockdale and Corsicana sites and Cipher Digital's Reveille site in Texas. Cipher Digital's Ulysses site is in Ohio and therefore sits outside the Texas policy debate.

That leaves a split between sites with approved interconnections and developments still waiting for clearance. It does not erase the power-cost issue, but it places those named Texas projects outside the category of developments still awaiting initial power clearance. The reported policy would pause new approvals; the source does not say it would cancel approved interconnections.

How does Hut 8's audit differ?

Hut 8's Beacon Point project faces a separate, existing Texas audit. Its Phase 1 baseload classification remains under that audit, which is distinct from Hinojosa's proposed pause. Beacon Point therefore has an unresolved regulatory question running through an existing proceeding rather than depending only on whether a general approval pause is adopted.

The distinction creates two separate tracks for assessing projects. One concerns the pace of new data-center approvals and the time required to clear developments awaiting authorization. The other concerns Beacon Point's Phase 1 baseload classification. The next policy checkpoint is legislative action on resident protections; until then, no new-approval pause is in effect, and Beacon Point's existing audit remains the relevant unresolved review.