Bitcoin Mining Faces Mass Exit as Listed Miners Flee to AI Data Centers

CoinShares issued a warning about an impending shakeout in the Bitcoin mining industry. At least 35 EH/s of computing power is set to leave listed miners by the end of the third quarter, reducing the network's total computing power by around 4%.

The affected companies are Core Scientific (CORZ), Keel Infrastructure (KEEL), IREN, and Cipher Digital (CIFR). Core Scientific paid $41.9 million to cancel a chip order with Block's Proto division, while Keel stopped mining entirely in June. IREN plans to exit the business by the end of this year.

CoinShares attributes the exits to more profitable opportunities in AI data centers, which can generate annualized profits of around $1.5 million per megawatt compared to Bitcoin mining's roughly $0.5 million.