Bitcoin Miners Abandon Crypto for AI-HPC Infrastructure

The Bitcoin mining industry is undergoing significant changes as miners are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure for higher returns.

According to a recent report, major miners such as Core Scientific and Cipher have stopped or reduced their mining operations due to deteriorating economics. In June, Bitcoin's hashprice reached a record low of $27.70 per PH/s/day, while transaction fees contributed less than 1% of block rewards.

The shift towards AI infrastructure is driven by the fact that it can generate approximately $1.5 million in annualized profit per megawatt (MW), compared to around $500,000 from Bitcoin mining. This change in economics requires investors to reevaluate how they value mining infrastructure and consider what alternative returns electricity could generate.