This report comes amid dramatic changes in the Bitcoin mining industry. In the wake of the collapse in mining profitability after the 2024 halving, many operators began repurposing power infrastructure to support AI workloads, betting that technology companies would pay far more for electricity and data center capacity than Bitcoin miners.
Core Scientific (CORZ) has signed a multi-billion 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 all announced plans to lease power and data center capacity to AI and high-performance computing customers. Meanwhile, Marathon Digital (MARA), Riot Platforms (RIOT), and CleanSpark (CLSK) are pursuing hybrid strategies that maintain Bitcoin mining operations while exploring AI opportunities.
Bitcoin (down about 24% since January) and other large public crypto stocks have lost significant value so far this year, as crypto prices continue to fall as investor focus shifts to AI, but Bitcoin miners are largely seeing green lights across the sector. RIOT is up nearly 94% year-to-date, while CIFR is up 62%. Other companies have shown similar increases over the same period.
This novel narrative has helped drive some of the biggest stock moves in the crypto sector over the past year, with investors rewarding many of these companies with valuations that increasingly reflect their AI potential rather than their mining operations.
