🌊 Introduction: When Innovation Meets Speculation

In 2017 it was the crypto-mining gold rush; by 2023–2025 it became the AI data-center gold rush. At the center of both stands NVIDIA (NVDA). Is the company merely surfing these cycles—or subtly steering them?

💰 Phase 1 — Crypto Mining Boom (2017–2021)

During Ethereum’s Proof-of-Work era, NVIDIA gaming GPUs were diverted into mining, creating scarcity and outsized profits. In December 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed a class-action suit to proceed that alleges NVIDIA misled investors about crypto-related sales exposure—keeping that question alive in the courts. (AP News)

🤖 Phase 2 — The AI Compute Rush (2022–Now)

As Ethereum moved to Proof-of-Stake in 2022, GPU mining demand collapsed—just as generative AI spiked. NVIDIA’s A100/H100 data-center GPUs became the default for training/inference at hyperscalers and model labs, while the CUDA / cuDNN / TensorRT stack deepened developer lock-in. Meanwhile, crypto miners began pivoting their power-rich sites into AI data centers, accelerating demand for AI-grade compute. (CoinDesk)

Recent deals underscore that shift: in October 2025, a consortium led by BlackRock—with NVIDIA, Microsoft, and xAI participating—announced a $40B acquisition of Aligned Data Centers to expand AI infrastructure capacity. Coverage from Reuters and Financial Times highlights the scale and intent; crypto/AI trade press note the valuation premium over listed bitcoin miners. (Reuters)

Miners → AI Operators (examples)

Industry reporting shows multiple miners (e.g., Bitdeer, Cipher) retooling for AI workloads, and analysts (Bernstein) quantifying miners’ advantaged access to power. (CoinDesk)

🧩 NVIDIA’s Playbook: Riding and Steering

Lever	What it looks like	Result
Narrative timing	Transitioned messaging from gaming → crypto → AI right as each wave peaked/faded	Sustained growth story
Supply orchestration	Perceived scarcity of top GPUs (A/H-series)	Pricing power & ASPs
Ecosystem lock-in	CUDA + SDKs + systems partners	Switching costs rise
Story & signal	Headline growth + marquee partnerships & pre-buys	Confidence flywheel

🧮 Two Waves, One Roadmap (Mermaid Gantt)

This version uses Gantt (widely supported) to avoid timeline-syntax issues.

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gantt
    title NVIDIA: Steering Two Waves — Crypto → AI
    dateFormat  YYYY
    section Crypto Wave
    Crypto mining boom (ETH PoW)     :done, 2017, 2018
    Crypto winter                    :crit, 2019, 2019
    DeFi/NFT surge                   :active, 2020, 2021
    section AI Wave
    Ethereum Merge (PoS)             :2022, 2022
    GenAI breakout (ChatGPT launch)  :2023, 2023
    AI datacenter build-out          :2024, 2024
    Consolidation & scrutiny         :2025, 2025

⚖️ Innovation vs. Exuberance

The AI build-out has real economics (productivity gains; hyperscaler capex), yet pockets of speculative demand persist (GPU hoarding; “AI wrapper” startups). Recent reporting compares the moment to the dot-com era—revolutionary tech with valuation heat. (Financial Times)

🧭 Bottom Line

NVIDIA isn’t committing illegal “market manipulation”; it’s executing market orchestration—aligning product cadence, ecosystem strategy, and partnerships to convert waves of enthusiasm into durable demand. Whether this resolves into permanent infrastructure—or another painful reset—depends on how quickly real AI workloads fill all that capacity. (CoinDesk)

📚 Updated, Working References

Supreme Court / Lawsuit — AP News: Court allows class-action suit to proceed (Dec 11, 2024). (AP News)
Background coverage — PBS NewsHour write-up (AP). (PBS)
Hearing preview — AP: Court seemed likely to keep suit alive (Nov 13, 2024). (AP News)
Crypto miners → AI data centers (analysis/reporting) — CoinDesk features & market notes (Sep–Oct 2025). (CoinDesk)
Industry blog/analysis — DataCenters.com on miners pivoting to AI (Jul 21, 2025). (Data Centers)
Podcast/industry press — Fierce Network: “Crypto companies mine for AI gold” (Oct 17, 2025). (Fierce Network)
Aligned Data Centers deal — Reuters (Oct 15, 2025); Financial Times (Oct 15, 2025); The Block valuation context. (Reuters)