Riot Platforms is reportedly again in the crosshairs of an activist shareholder, with investment firm D.E. Shaw having built a position in the Bitcoin miner.
The Manhattan investment company, which boasts $70 billion in assets, has built an unknown-sized stake in Riot and could push the firm to make changes, Reuters reported on Jan. 29, citing two sources familiar with the matter.
D.E. Shaw’s claim to fame is creating complicated math models to exploit financial markets for gains. It’s reportedly shrewd in how it takes over the companies it targets, preferring to quietly negotiate with executives for the changes it wants away from the public eye.
It’s the second activist shareholder to target Riot in recent months, as hedge fund Starboard Value reportedly took a “significant position” in the crypto miner late last year.
Starboard has urged Riot to repurpose some of its Bitcoin (BTC) mining operations to power large data center users, which have grown amid an artificial intelligence frenzy. Riot has admitted that it has held talks with Starboard.
Many crypto miners have been renting out parts of their operations to back AI over the past few months as the difficulty of mining Bitcoin (BTC) has climbed and the competitive field has tightened. At the same time, AI-related ventures have soared in value.
On Jan. 21, Riot said it would launch a formal evaluation into switching over 600 megawatts worth of power at its Corsicana, Texas, site to back AI and high-performance computing. The site currently uses 400 megawatts of power to mine Bitcoin.
Shares in Riot Platforms (RIOT) closed up nearly 2.5% to $11.22 on Jan. 29, putting a halt to two days of losses that were also seen across other public crypto miners, according to Google Finance.
RIOT is up nearly 10% so far this year but is down nearly 3% over the last 12 months as it struggled to make a net income.
Related: Digital Currency Group spins out new crypto mining subsidiary
The crypto industry is hopeful that US President Donald Trump’s promises to cut regulatory oversight of the crypto industry and boost local Bitcoin mining will bring tailwinds to the sector.
Riot has also taken part in its own activist investing. Last year, it looked to take over rival Bitcoin miner Bitfarms and built up a substantial stake in the company, but the pair agreed to end the hostile takeover late last year.
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