Cipher Mining’s 8.83% Rally Pushes $530M Volume to 172nd Rank After 269.71% Surge Fueled by Institutional Buy-In and Analyst Upgrades

Cipher Mining (CIFR) surged 8.83% on August 29, with a trading volume of $530 million, marking a 269.71% increase from the previous day. This ranks the stock 172nd in trading volume across the market. The rally coincided with institutional buying from Helix Partners and Vident Advisory, which had previously increased their stakes in Q1 and Q4, signaling renewed confidence in the firm’s Bitcoin mining operations. Analyst upgrades, including price targets of $8 and $9 from Macquarie and Canaccord respectively, further fueled speculative buying.

Technical indicators highlighted aggressive momentum, with the stock breaking above its 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages. The RSI reached 82.34, indicating overbought conditions, while MACD (0.395) reinforced bullish sentiment. However, the stock’s beta of 2.73 underscores its heightened volatility compared to peers, making it a high-risk, high-reward play. Options data revealed elevated implied volatility, with contracts like CIFR20250905C7.5 and CIFR20250919C8 attracting attention for leveraged exposure.

Historical backtests of Cipher’s performance after intraday surges of 11% or more showed mixed outcomes. While occasional large gains occurred, the average return was negative (-4% per trade, annualized -3.9%). Maximum drawdowns approached 36%, with only a minority of trades proving profitable. The “buy-the-surge” strategy demonstrated no clear edge over the tested period, suggesting caution for investors considering short-term bets amid the stock’s current overbought technical profile.