AI Boom Squeezes US Bitcoin Miners in Electricity Power Struggle
The rapid growth of artificial intelligence is squeezing US Bitcoin miners as data centers compete for power. AI infrastructure demands increasingly large amounts of electricity, causing a new challenge for Bitcoin mining operators who rely on relatively cheap and reliable power.
CoinShares reported that over $70 billion in cumulative AI and high-performance computing contracts had been announced across the public mining sector. This has encouraged several mining companies to redirect their infrastructure toward AI and HPC applications instead of relying exclusively on Bitcoin mining.
IREN, for example, saw its AI Cloud Services revenue rise to $128.8 million in fiscal 2026 from $16.4 million a year earlier. The company also reported non-cash impairments of $638.8 million primarily associated with decommissioning Bitcoin mining hardware as sites were converted to support AI growth.
The shift reflects a broader change in the value of infrastructure built for cryptocurrency mining, where access to affordable power and grid connections has become increasingly valuable. The US power market is expected to remain under pressure as AI-related demand expands.