The report comes amid a dramatic shift in the bitcoin mining industry. Following the collapse in mining profitability following the 2024 halving, many operators began repurposing their energy infrastructure to support AI workloads, betting that technology companies would pay significantly more for electricity and data center capacity than bitcoin miners.
Core Scientific (CORZ) signed a multimillion-dollar hosting deal with AI startup CoreWeave, helping transform the company from a bitcoin miner to an AI infrastructure provider. TeraWulf (WULF), Hut 8 (HUT), Iren (IREN), and Cipher Mining (CIFR) have announced plans to lease power and data center capacity to AI and high-performance computing clients, while Marathon Digital (MARA), Riot Platforms (RIOT), and CleanSpark (CLSK) are pursuing hybrid strategies that maintain bitcoin mining operations while exploring AI opportunities.
While bitcoin (down about 24% since January), along with other big public cryptocurrency names, have lost significant value so far this year as cryptocurrency prices continue to fall amid investors’ shift in focus toward AI, bitcoin miners have seen largely green candles across the sector. RIOT is up almost 94% year-to-date, while CIFR is up 62%. Others are showing similar gains over the same period.
The new narrative has helped drive some of the biggest stock moves in the cryptocurrency sector over the past year, and investors have rewarded many of these companies with valuations that increasingly reflect their AI potential rather than their mining businesses.
