Example of Daily Market: AI Trading Remains Steady Despite Volatile Valuations

As of late December 2025, while concerns about the AI bubble are sweeping the global tech market, a different phenomenon is unfolding on Wall Street’s trading floor. Bitcoin miners and data center developers continue to offer aggressive prices for megawatt electricity, creating ongoing deal stories behind the negative headlines. In a daily market example illustrating this industry dynamic, substantial investments still flow into power infrastructure and GPU capacity.

Joe Nardini, head of investment banking at B. Riley Securities, offers a unique perspective on what is really happening behind the scenes. Based on his observations of M&A activity in this sector, business fundamentals remain strong despite volatile market sentiment.

AI Concerns and Operational Market Realities

Early 2026 brings a series of market doubts. Bitcoin prices, which once touched $100,000, are now at $78.10K, while major AI tech stocks like Nvidia have experienced significant corrections. CoreWeave (CRWV), an AI infrastructure specialist, even dropped more than 50% from its June peak. The natural question arises: has the AI trend already moved beyond its growth phase?

However, in daily market examples observed by industry executives, a different narrative emerges. Data center capacity demand remains intense. Bitcoin miners with strong credibility continue to seek high-power locations, as do AI developers requiring large-scale GPUs. This creates a paradoxical transaction environment: market valuations decline, but deals keep happening.

" M&A activity is still ongoing because people still need electricity," explains Nardini simply but fundamentally. This phrase encapsulates a reality often overlooked in valuation bubble discussions.

Bitcoin Miners Shift Functions, Demand Rises

After the Bitcoin halving cut rewards in half, miners’ profit margins are heavily pressured. Although BTC prices approached or exceeded $100,000 previously, mining profitability has decreased. As a result, many miners are taking strategic steps: converting their mining facilities or opening new capacity to provide AI and HPC (High Performance Computing) services.

This diversification shift creates unexpectedly positive effects. Bitcoin miners who successfully pivot to HPC see increased valuations and more competitive access to capital. This daily market example shows that business adaptation opens new opportunities amid mining margin pressures.

In real-world data center market examples, demand for GPU-ready facilities remains high from quality clients. Tenants with strong creditworthiness are willing to pay premium rates for strategic locations with available and stable power.

Multi-Billion Dollar Deals: Current Market Snapshot

December 2025 transaction activity provides a clear picture of market fundamentals. Hut 8, a leading Bitcoin mining infrastructure company, saw its stock drop 20% after announcing a $7 billion long-term lease agreement with Fluidstack. The deal includes 245 megawatts of IT capacity at their River Bend campus.

From such daily market examples, we observe several patterns:

Attractive Dollar per Megawatt Valuations

In data center infrastructure deals, the key metric used is dollars per megawatt. Nardini reveals that in a competitive environment with high-quality power and suitable locations, valuations can reach very attractive levels—ranging from $400,000 to $450,000 per megawatt, or even higher. In previous extreme cases, some deals were valued between $500,000 and $550,000 per megawatt.

Of course, problematic or less desirable locations attract lower bids—ranging from $100,000 to $250,000 per megawatt—from buyers still wanting power but accepting discounts for quality or location.

Expanding Buyer Ecosystem

Who is buying and selling in these daily market examples? Buyers include large hyperscalers (cloud infrastructure providers like Google, Amazon, Meta), native AI companies, and Bitcoin miners. Sellers are increasingly diverse: not only native crypto operators but also traditional industrial facilities and private owners seeing monetization opportunities for their power assets.

Nardini even witnesses transactions involving 160-year-old industrial facilities, where electricity becomes a high-value asset. In another case, a private seller of similar assets received interest from about 25 potential buyers—including Bitcoin miners, hyperscalers, and AI companies—all seeking NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) clauses.

Asset Owner Strategies: Sell or Develop?

In broader daily market examples, infrastructure asset owners face strategic decisions: sell to hyperscalers or large data center developers, or try to become developers themselves?

Nardini sees older, inactive, or nearly inactive industrial facilities starting to consider entering the AI/HPC and Bitcoin ecosystems. One of Nardini’s clients has converted an old office block into modular power capacity, gradually building a 30-megawatt unit, and is now seeking further funding for expansion.

Buyers’ urgency levels are also striking. In at least one negotiation, a tenant was willing to pay rent upfront before project completion—an indicator of how scarce and in-demand quality capacity is in today’s market.

Market Outlook and Risk-On Scenario 2026

Looking ahead to 2026, Nardini remains optimistic. If interest rates decline as some analysts expect, market conditions will create a “risk-on environment” favorable to infrastructure assets and sectors related to Bitcoin and AI. This would be a positive tailwind for transaction volumes in the investment banking industry.

He admits there may be some bias in his optimism—investment banks earn fees from M&A—but operational realities he hears from executives are very convincing. In the daily market examples he monitors, tenants are present, prices remain strong, and if one customer doesn’t take a certain location, another buyer is ready to step in.

His simple warning: if data center developers cannot lease out their built capacity, or do not get the rates needed for sustainability, it’s time to worry. Currently, in the daily market examples Nardini observes, that warning signal has not yet appeared.

Business Fundamentals Remain Intact

In conclusion, Nardini firmly summarizes his stance: “Business fundamentals remain intact.”

Demand for high-power data center capacity and AI HPC infrastructure continues unabated. Developers with existing data center capacity are successfully leasing to multiple high-quality tenants at favorable rates. The core economics of the business remain solid. Buyers still crave energy, and sellers see good valuations for their assets.

Although media coverage emphasizes concerns about AI valuations and tech stock corrections, the daily market examples happening on the trading floor tell a different story: AI and infrastructure trading remain alive and thriving, driven by undeniable fundamental needs—electricity and high-performance computing that continue to grow.

As Nardini stated at the end of his interview, referencing the latest market data through December 2025: “AI trading is still alive, and daily market data shows momentum continues.”