Grayscale Research Director: The decline in computing power stocks, demand will still be maintained

Grayscale Research Director Zach Pandl stated in "The Stack" published on October 20, 2026: AI computing infrastructure stocks have recently declined due to investors' concerns about rising borrowing costs, while the financing needs of related companies are high. The stock index, which includes AI cloud service providers CoreWeave and Nebius, has fallen by approximately 27% since the end of September, according to data from Bloomberg and Grayscale Investments, based on the Indxx High-Performance Computing Index, as of October 19, 2026.

Pandl noted: Most of these companies are in early stages and capital-intensive, with some neocloud capital expenditures being several times their current revenue. The top five holdings in the index have a capital expenditure to sales ratio exceeding 230% over the past 12 months, with data as of October 19, 2026. He believes that while stock prices are correcting, the demand and prices for computing power remain stable, with demand for computing power increasing rather than decreasing.

He also anticipates: The decline in token prices and the increase in AI agent usage will lead to higher inference demand, thereby supporting the growth of computing power demand; if demand increases and computing power prices remain high, these companies may benefit. He also mentioned the slowdown in GPU depreciation, as well as the overlap between AI computing power and the Bitcoin mining industry, with the possibility of rising Bitcoin prices. Pandl believes: Higher borrowing costs have suppressed computing infrastructure stocks, but the fundamental trend of rising computing power demand remains valid, and this correction should be seen as an opportunity to increase exposure to the energized compute layer.