The report comes amid a sea change in the Bitcoin mining industry. Following the collapse in mining profitability after the 2024 halving, many operators began repurposing their power infrastructure to support AI workloads, betting that tech companies would pay much more for electricity and data center capacity than Bitcoin miners.
Core Scientific (CORZ) has signed a multibillion-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 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 crypto names, have lost significant value so far this year as crypto prices continue to fall as investors turn to AI, bitcoin miners have seen largely green candles across the sector. RIOT is up nearly 94% year to date, while CIFR is 62% higher. Others show similar gains over the same period.
This new narrative has helped drive some of the biggest stock moves in the crypto 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 operations.
