AI Gold Rush Lures Crypto Firms Away from Bitcoin
Bitcoin mining companies are pivoting to artificial intelligence (AI) as the cryptocurrency's value has fallen since its peak in October 2025. Companies such as TerraWulf, Ionic Digital, Core Scientific, Iris Energy, Bitdeer, Riot Platforms, and Hut 8 are diverting investment and infrastructure from Bitcoin mining towards AI. The shift is due to years of experience finding cheap electricity and efficiently running large data centers.
Riot Platforms signed a $9bn, 20-year compute deal with Anthropic earlier this month. Companies like Enegix are also transitioning, with their CEO stating that they will transform a 'significant' portion of the business to AI.
The refitting of crypto mines for AI is expensive and has required some companies to sell Bitcoin holdings to fund the switch.