As the “Chinese language model of NVIDIA,” Moore Threads’ market worth soared after it went public on the STAR Market on December fifth. Though there was a short adjustment, the enthusiasm remained excessive. As of the shut on December twelfth, Moore Threads’ market worth reached 383 billion yuan, and its inventory worth multiplied by six occasions in comparison with the concern worth, creating an enormous wave of wealth creation.
Curiously, when AI and computing energy stand at the forefront of capital tendencies, the ambiguous relationship between tech tycoons and digital currencies has as soon as once more come underneath the highlight.
Abroad, from Elon Musk and Sam Altman to Jensen Huang, these pioneers at the forefront of the technological wave have continuously been entangled with digital currencies. Now, the extremely – sought – after Moore Threads in China additionally has an analogous “quantum entanglement.”
Li Feng, who claims to be a co – founder of Moore Threads and the particular person in cost of the on-line course Moore Academy, was uncovered to have had a property dispute with others attributable to “cryptocurrency hypothesis.” Related individuals complained on social media that he had failed in blockchain funding utilizing Bitcoin, and since of the nature of digital belongings, it was tough to carry him accountable, and the cash has not been returned up to now.
Li Feng’s identify doesn’t seem amongst the core administration listed in Moore Threads’ prospectus, however the official web site options an interview with Li Feng that was simply launched not too long ago.
This seemingly non – existent connection is sort of a metaphor. There’s all the time an elusive capital hyperlink between computing energy, AI, and digital currencies.
01
The “Love – Hate Relationship” between Tech Tycoons and the Cryptocurrency Circle
Many tech tycoons have skilled the ups and downs of the cryptocurrency circle. As the leaders of nicely – recognized enterprises in the subject of synthetic intelligence, Elon Musk and Sam Altman have a extra constructive angle in direction of digital currencies. And their motives go far past easy funding good points.
Elon Musk used to maintain his distance from digital currencies, however later he “manipulated” digital foreign money traders along with his affect.
Earlier than 2019, Musk primarily joked about digital currencies. The turning level occurred on April Idiot’s Day that 12 months when some followers elected Musk as the “CEO of Dogecoin,” whereas the actual founder of Dogecoin had stopped collaborating in the challenge attributable to rampant market hypothesis.
Since then, along with his international affect, Musk has grow to be the de facto “chief promoter” of Dogecoin. One of his tweets can set off vital market fluctuations.
Each time Musk praised Dogecoin and belittled Bitcoin, the worth of Dogecoin would rise. In Could 2021, when he admitted on a spread present that Dogecoin was a “rip-off,” Dogecoin plummeted by 30%.
He additionally carried out the traditional operation of “speaking down – holding” on Bitcoin.
In February 2021, Tesla publicly purchased a complete of $1.5 billion value of Bitcoin. Three months later, it suspended Bitcoin funds on the grounds that “mining is just not environmentally pleasant,” inflicting the worth of Bitcoin to drop. Nonetheless, Tesla nonetheless holds a big place in Bitcoin. As of October 2025, it holds 11,509 Bitcoins, value over $1 billion.
Musk’s actions reveal a twin technique: utilizing private affect to revenue from market fluctuations whereas together with cryptocurrencies in the firm’s steadiness sheet for lengthy – time period bets.
Sam Altman, the head of OpenAI, appears to produce other motives and regards the issuance of digital currencies as a “social experiment.”
In Could 2023, the Web3 cryptocurrency challenge WorldCoin, wherein Altman participated, was launched. Altman believes that along with creating a brand new sort of digital foreign money, WorldCoin additionally entails distinguishing people from synthetic intelligence in the future.
This challenge presents individuals free cryptocurrency in change for iris scans. The iris scan ensures that every particular person can solely have one WorldCoin ID. Altman claims that his cryptocurrency is a kind of foreign money that may be equally distributed to everybody in the world.
Elon Musk squanders his affect in the cryptocurrency circle, Sam Altman makes use of digital currencies to create a “utopia,” and Jensen Huang maintains an ambiguous enterprise relationship with digital currencies, content material to “promote shovels.”
His NVIDIA is a dependable {hardware} producer of GPUs, that are instruments for mining (producing digital currencies). Throughout the two mining booms from 2016 – 2018 and 2020 – 2022, NVIDIA even launched P104 and P106, which had no show interfaces and had been solely used for mining. In 2021, it launched the CMP collection with out show features, clearly distinguishing mining playing cards from graphics playing cards.
Nonetheless, NVIDIA’s relationship with mining is proscribed to easy gross sales transactions, and the firm has by no means publicly participated in “mining.” The US Division of Justice and the Securities and Change Fee have accused NVIDIA of intentionally downplaying the influence of the mining increase on the development of its gross sales income, deceptive traders into attributing the income development to sport demand.
Jensen Huang as soon as stated, “Mining is only one of the calls for for GPUs.”
Curiously, in October 2025, at the identical time as NVIDIA’s expertise convention, a stay – stream of an AI – generated “Jensen Huang” blatantly promoted a so – referred to as “cryptocurrency popularization plan” rip-off. The quantity of on-line viewers reached as much as 95,000 at one level, way over the actual official stay – stream at the identical time.
It’s unknown whether or not Jensen Huang felt “slapped in the face” as a result of of this, however there is no such thing as a doubt that traders obsessive about digital currencies want NVIDIA’s computing energy, and typically computing energy additionally wants the cryptocurrency circle.
02
AI, Digital Currencies, Computing Energy, and Electrical energy
Each digital currencies and synthetic intelligence, which depend on computing energy, are pushed by the identical adventurous spirit of subverting current guidelines. The excessive diploma of isomorphism between synthetic intelligence and digital currencies in phrases of {hardware}, power, and different infrastructure permits capital and entrepreneurs to stream throughout the boundaries of the two.
In a way, each Musk and Altman have demonstrated the concern of tech entrepreneurs for decentralization and effectivity enchancment.
These tycoons additionally present a love for journey and a proactive angle in exerting affect in fields aside from digital currencies. They naturally choose excessive – threat, excessive – return funding fields: In 2008, when Elon Musk was dealing with difficulties with the manufacturing of Tesla’s Roadster electrical sports activities automobile and the third failure of SpaceX’s launch, with solely $30 million left in his account, he nonetheless cut up all his funds equally between the two tasks; Sam Altman even stated, “I am prepared to speculate all the cash I’ve earned from YC and OpenAI in nuclear fusion and mind – pc interfaces.”
In sensible phrases, computing energy means energy. Whether or not it’s coaching giant fashions or conducting cryptocurrency mining, one of the cores is to compete for computing energy.
Semiconductor firm Canaan Artistic Know-how initially targeted on producing mining machine chips as its essential enterprise. Then in 2016, it began researching and growing AI chips however all the time retained its self – operated mining enterprise. Later, attributable to the appreciable mining income, it stopped the growth of AI chips this 12 months and targeted on mining. In Could 2025, Canaan Artistic Know-how mined a complete of 109 Bitcoins, a report excessive for the firm.
Though NVIDIA insists that it doesn’t take part in mining, its GPUs are all the time in excessive demand throughout mining booms, and the market continues to suspect that it could secretly mine utilizing idle manufacturing capability.
In actual fact, each synthetic intelligence and mining are basically power – intensive industries that require a big quantity of computing energy and electrical energy.
Contemplating that the present market state of affairs of the basic AI observe is a lot better than that of digital currencies, extra mining enterprises throughout the ocean have remodeled into computing energy suppliers. The explanations are usually not solely associated to the price of return but in addition to the energy provide.
In recent times, nicely – recognized mining enterprises in the cryptocurrency circle reminiscent of CoreWeave, TeraWulf, and IREN have used their infrastructure to offer computing energy companies. The reason being naturally that being a computing energy service supplier is extra worthwhile and has extra creativeness house in the capital market, and the worth of Bitcoin is not rising quickly. The US inventory market additionally provides totally different worth – to – earnings multiples to computing energy enterprises and pure mining enterprises.
At the identical time, the native scarcity of electrical power in the US infrastructure makes it tough for exterior enterprises to acquire approval to make use of a big quantity of electrical energy, which provides Bitcoin mines with current power approvals a prepared – made alternative for transformation.
It normally takes 2 to 4 years for a newly constructed AI knowledge middle in the United States to acquire energy approval, whereas Bitcoin mining enterprises locked in grid – connection permits and lengthy – time period low – value energy contracts throughout the earlier bull market. A report by Morgan Stanley in November 2025 identified that mining enterprises have authorized grid connections and huge – scale energy provide capabilities, which may bypass the time – consuming approval course of. For AI firms desirous to deploy computing energy, that is the possibility with the lowest execution threat.
A computing energy middle may be stated to be a bottomless pit for consuming electrical power. In keeping with the “Electrical energy 2024” report launched by the Worldwide Power Company, the international electrical energy consumption for computing energy will exceed Japan’s annual electrical energy consumption in 2026, and after 2035, it would enhance by at the very least the annual electrical energy consumption of Japan yearly. Due to this fact, some trade insiders say that “behind the bits is the watts.”
Totally different from the “mine transformation” path underneath the power constraints in the United States, the growth of computing energy in China is extra guided by insurance policies and general planning. The official has constantly regulated mining actions, emphasizing that computing energy development ought to serve the actual financial system and concentrate on precise advantages.
Gong Ke, the govt dean of the Institute for the Growth Technique of New – Technology Synthetic Intelligence in China, stated at the Caixin Summit that the enlargement of computing energy ought to be primarily based on the precise financial advantages generated by growing computing energy somewhat than blind enlargement.
This makes the home computing energy observe extra targeted on technological breakthroughs and compliant functions, forming a distinct growth logic from the US market.
03
After the Frenzy in the Computing Energy Monitor
Nonetheless, whether or not on the different aspect of the ocean or this aspect, computing energy is all the time in excessive demand, as evidenced by market values.
NVIDIA’s market worth as soon as exceeded $5 trillion this 12 months, making it the world’s first listed firm to achieve this valuation, clearly demonstrating the affect behind computing energy.
In China, as quickly as Moore Threads went public, its market worth surpassed 99% of listed firms. On the identical day that Moore Threads went public, Muxi Co., Ltd., which is in the identical observe, began its subscription and can quickly be listed on the STAR Market. Many trade insiders imagine that Muxi will replicate the fantasy of Moore Threads’ sky – rocketing inventory worth after itemizing.
And Cambricon Applied sciences, a home semiconductor large, is one of the firms with the highest market worth in the A – share market. Behind that is the triple drive of the basic AI funding increase, the narrative of home substitution, and nationwide strategic wants.
At the identical time, as a instrument for bettering effectivity in the enterprise – service sector, the computing energy trade has a really quick replace and iteration velocity, with restricted house for differential competitors, and it’s simple to provide the “Matthew impact.” Due to this fact, the trade is sure to face steady and fierce competitors in the future.
The prosperity of the computing energy market can be partly attributable to modifications in the worldwide state of affairs, which is behind the technological competitors between international locations. The rise of home computing energy began with the US expertise export management and in addition meets the nation’s strategic wants for AI growth. The at present well-liked enterprises have grow to be favorites in the capital market on this context.
Nonetheless, insurance policies themselves are unsure. On December eighth, the Trump administration introduced the lifting of gross sales restrictions on the export of H200 chips to China. At current, the coverage modifications and their subsequent impacts are nonetheless unclear.
From the frenzy of digital currencies to the wave of synthetic intelligence, these two seemingly totally different tracks finally converge at the identical underlying degree – computing energy. Tech tycoons and capital shuttle between them, and nobody desires to be left behind on the observe of wealth reconstruction and technological evolution.
This text is from the WeChat official account “Leopard Change” (ID: baobiannews), writer: Zhang Jingwei, printed by 36Kr with authorization.
