Bitcoin Miners Prepare for Next Halving as AI Opportunities Grow
The next Bitcoin halving is less than two years away, set to occur in April 2028. At this point, miners will receive just 1.5625 BTC as a reward for adding a block, down from today's subsidy. This has led some to wonder who will still be mining at this time.
Some miners are already abandoning Bitcoin for more lucrative opportunities. Keel Infrastructure, formerly Bitfarms, has decommissioned its U.S. Bitcoin mining operations and is redeveloping the sites for AI and high-performance computing (HPC) data centers. CEO Ben Gagnon described the transformation at one site in Washington as 'strikingly literal'.
The shift towards AI infrastructure is significant. CoinShares estimates that publicly listed miners could derive up to 70% of their revenue from AI by the end of 2026, up from around 30% today. This is due in part to the high demand for electricity from AI companies, which mining operations can provide.
However, profitability for Bitcoin mining does not solely depend on the block subsidy. Other factors such as Bitcoin's price, electricity costs, transaction fees, and the efficiency of mining machines also play a role. A sufficiently large rise in Bitcoin's price could offset the impact of the halving.