Hedge fund firm DE Shaw has acquired a position in Riot Platforms and may advocate for strategic shifts at the cryptocurrency mining company, according to a report by Reuters citing two sources familiar with the matter.
The move, which makes DE Shaw the second activist investor to target Riot in recent months, saw the firm’s shares jump by more than 3% on Wednesday after the news broke.
The size of DE Shaw’s stake remains undisclosed, and representatives for both Riot and the investment firm — which oversees $70bn in assets — declined to comment.
DE Shaw’s involvement follows Starboard Value’s investment in Riot late last year. Starboard has urged Riot to explore reallocating some of its power capacity to artificial intelligence (AI). In response, Riot recently announced it would formally evaluate potential AI and high-performance computing applications for its facility in Corsicana, Texas.
Riot, which has a market capitalisation of approximately $3.8bn, previously attempted to acquire rival miner Bitfarms but was unsuccessful. Instead, the two companies reached an agreement to revamp Bitfarms’s board.
Unlike traditional activist investors, DE Shaw is known for employing quantitative investment strategies but occasionally takes activist positions — typically negotiating privately rather than engaging in public boardroom battles.
The firm previously took a stake in Air Products and Chemicals and aligned itself with activist investor Mantle Ridge Capital, advocating for leadership changes and capital reallocation at the industrial gases company. Instead of proposing its own board candidates, DE Shaw backed Mantle Ridge’s nominees, three of whom were elected to Air Products’ nine-member board last week.