Bitcoin Miners Abandon Ship as AI and HPC Lure with Higher Revenue Potential

Bitcoin miners are disconnecting their computing power at an alarming rate as they pivot towards AI and High-Performance Computing (HPC) due to significantly higher revenue potential. In H1 2026, listed miners' hashrate dropped by 15% as electricity was redirected to AI infrastructure. The transformation costs are high, with $18.6 billion invested in one quarter by 14 companies.

The median revenue per megawatt-hour for HPC hosting is approximately $175, similar to the latest generation of Bitcoin mining machines; however, AI cloud services generate significantly higher revenue at around $941. This has led some firms to see AI revenue surpassing shrinking crypto mining income.

Among six comparable AI power infrastructure providers, ongoing HPC revenue ranges from approximately $86 to $300 per megawatt-hour, with a median of approximately $180. The estimates are sensitive to commissioning time and straight-line lease accounting may recognize revenue before actual cash receipt.