Bitcoin Miners Abandon Ship for Lucrative AI Deals

A shift is taking place in the cryptocurrency industry as companies that once focused on Bitcoin mining are pivoting to Artificial Intelligence (AI). This change is driven by the fact that years of experience in finding cheap electricity and efficiently running large data centres can be repurposed for AI use. The rewards for Bitcoin miners have decreased significantly since last year, with one bitcoin's value dropping from around $124,000 in October 2025 to $80,000 recently.

Industry analysts predict that the industry will continue to pivot towards AI even as the price of Bitcoin has risen in recent days. 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.

Riot Platforms signed a $9bn, 20-year compute deal with Anthropic earlier this month, while Bitdeer announced a 16-year deal to provide compute for the same company. However, Bitdeer's chief strategy officer, Haris Basit, believes that many operators will pursue a dual-purpose model, mining Bitcoin and providing AI services simultaneously.