Meme Stock Rally Resurges: Galaxy Digital’s AI Infrastructure Pivot Fuels Market Optimism

The speculative fervor reminiscent of 2021’s ‘meme stock‘ phenomenon has reignited, with retail investors once again driving significant market volatility in select equities. This renewed surge, largely propelled by online communities, targets heavily shorted companies, echoing past strategies aimed at forcing short squeezes and generating rapid gains outside traditional fundamental analysis.

• Retail-driven market volatility has re-emerged, targeting heavily shorted equities.
• Individual investor inflows into U.S. stocks and ETFs reached approximately $155 billion in the first half of the year, surpassing 2021 levels.
• The S&P 500 achieved its eleventh all-time high in 2025 amid robust retail participation.
• Jefferies issued a ‘buy’ rating for Galaxy Digital, setting a $35 price target.
• Galaxy Digital has strategically pivoted its operations from Bitcoin mining to hosting high-performance computing (HPC) and AI infrastructure.

This week’s resurgence saw shares of companies like GoPro and Krispy Kreme experience sharp upticks, fueled by discussions within online forums such as Reddit’s WallStreetBets. Unlike the initial 2021 surge that concentrated on names like GameStop and AMC, the current retail-driven rally is diversifying its targets, focusing on a new cohort of stocks exhibiting high short interest. Participants in these forums often refer to these high-risk, high-reward plays as ‘you-only-live-once’ (YOLO) investments, signaling a strong speculative intent.

The broader market context indicates a significant return of individual investors to equities. Data from VandaTrack reveals that the first half of the year saw approximately $155 billion flow into U.S. stocks and ETFs from individual investors, surpassing inflows observed during the 2021 meme stock bubble. This robust retail participation coincides with the S&P 500 reaching its eleventh all-time high in 2025, reflecting a pronounced market appetite for risk. Analysts identifying potential meme stock candidates often look for specific criteria: short interest exceeding 30%, market capitalization between $50 million and $2 billion, and share prices under $20.

Galaxy Digital’s Strategic Pivot

Beyond the meme stock narrative, digital asset-linked companies are also attracting substantial investor attention. Galaxy Digital, a prominent financial services and investment management firm in the digital asset sector, recently received a ‘buy’ rating from Jefferies. Analyst Jonathan Petersen set a price target of $35, suggesting an approximately 20% upside from its Tuesday closing price. This optimistic outlook is predicated on two primary drivers: increasing clarity in U.S. cryptocurrency regulations and the burgeoning demand for infrastructure supporting Artificial Intelligence (AI) data centers.

Galaxy Digital’s strategic evolution underpins this positive assessment. While the company initially engaged in Bitcoin mining in 2020, it has since pivoted, repurposing its mining infrastructure to host high-performance computing (HPC) and AI operations. For instance, its Helios facility in West Texas is actively supporting workloads for CoreWeave, a significant provider of cloud-based AI computing solutions. Petersen underscored that the majority of Galaxy’s projected growth is intrinsically linked to this strategic shift into the AI infrastructure domain.

Meanwhile, other notable crypto-related tickers experienced movements that appeared largely driven by speculative sentiment rather than fundamental announcements. Coinbase saw a decline, while Robinhood also dipped. AMC and GameStop, while previously central to the meme stock narrative, traded with minor fluctuations. Circle, a stablecoin issuer, edged higher. These movements generally occurred without corresponding earnings reports, revised guidance, or material corporate disclosures, highlighting the prevalent role of market speculation.