Bitdeer Technologies Group (Nasdaq: BTDR), the Singapore-based mining hulk led by Jihan Wu, has liquidated its Bitcoin holdings to zero, bringing a pivotal shift in the cryptocurrency mining sector and Bitcoin market.
Amid the downturn of BTC to the $65,000 range, this strategic move by the world’s largest listed self-mining company by hashrate (63.2 EH/s) is deepening the rift between the miners with a ‘HOLD-at-all-cost’ approach and those who are looking forward to AI and High-Performance Computing (HPC).
On February 20, Bitdeer reported in its weekly operational update on X that its corporate Bitcoin Reserve has bottomed out, with the pure holdings reaching zero, excluding customer deposits. They liquidated a net 943.1 BTC along with their weekly production of 189.8 BTC in a single week.
Bitdeer has officially declared to move away from being an ‘HODL’ (holding) company to an ‘AI and Computing Power’ company, as per their press release on the same day (February 20, 2026), in which they offer their equities (Class A ordinary shares) to raise cash.
Bitcoin Dilemma: The Macroeconomic Backdrop
With the CMC Fear and Greed Index reaching 14, indicating “Extreme Fear” sentiment amid Bitcoin’s fall to the $65,000, has triggered an aggressive and broad sell-off across the market. While the renewed US tariff policies, combined with the hawkish stance of the US Federal Reserve, hang over the crypto market, rattling risk assets, Bitcoin had a deep dive following the reports of the liquidation storm.
As the macroeconomic drivers pull a technical ‘squeeze’, fueling the volatility of the market, the difficulty surged further, causing the BTC price to languish. The profitability of mining (Hashprice) crashed significantly, and holding on to the mined coins became expensive and hard, forcing the miners to sell them away.
As of February 19, the network difficulty was at 144.39T, showing the largest single spike of 14.72% since 2021. Following that, the Hashprice dropped below $30/PH/s/day, near its all-time low.
The AI and High-Performance Computing Spin
As mentioned in the press release, Bitdeer is actively rebranding as an AI Infrastructure company, rotating its capital from Bitcoin mining to data centers and AI training. Like many other companies, Bitdeer’s move towards AI data centers, eyeing its high-returning potential, is also part of diversifying its new-age revenue resources and capitalize the demand for AI cloud services.
While Bitdeer is emptying its BTC treasury to zero, major entities like MARA Holdings (~53,250 BTC) and MicroStrategy (~717,131 BTC) are strengthening their ‘digital gold’ reserve.
Amid the fall of Bitcoin, the exit of Bitdeer can cause a significant impact on the Bitcoin price and overall market volatility. With the Fear and Greed Index sitting at 14, this news is further hitting the near-term market with downward pressure.
However, among this general market gloom, accelerated by the current wind of negative regulatory sentiment in the US, several institutions are holding on to Bitcoin, unbothered by the current scenarios. As the hope of a rebound to a new high in the future remains strong for BTC, long-term investing holds a positive outlook in the current Bitcoin market.
