Bitcoin Miners Flee Core Business for AI Data Centers as Profitability Slumps

Bitcoin miners are shifting away from their core business due to declining profitability. The value of Bitcoin has dropped significantly, from around $125,000 in May last year to its current range of $63,000 to $65,000. Miners' revenue also decreases as the reward for mining a block fell to 3.125 Bitcoin from 6.25 Bitcoin after the halving in April this year.

Riot Platforms is one of the companies leading this shift by signing a 20-year contract worth about $9.1 billion to lease its Rockdale, Texas facility to an AI company. The company's shares surged more than 25% in after-hours trading after the deal was announced.

Other companies like Bitdeer and Clym Infrastructure are also expanding their AI business by signing data center contracts with AI and cloud companies. Some mining companies are leaving Bitcoin mining altogether, such as Clym Infrastructure which will shut down all its U.S. operations to convert them into AI data centers.