Core Scientific Ditches Block Chip Deal, Seeks AI Infrastructure Goldmine

Core Scientific, a prominent Bitcoin mining firm, has suffered a significant financial blow after terminating its agreement to purchase Bitcoin mining chips from Block. The company had made prepayments totaling at least $67.9 million under the deal but decided to cancel the remaining delivery obligations, resulting in a loss of $41.9 million.

The decision marks a strategic shift for Core Scientific as it reassesses its mining hardware needs and capital allocation priorities. Just one day before terminating the Block contract, the company announced a 15-year lease agreement with AMD for 529 megawatts (MW) of data center capacity, which is expected to generate over $14 billion in contracted revenue.

This move signals a pivot toward high-performance computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure, moving beyond traditional Bitcoin mining. The decision reflects a broader trend among major mining firms diversifying their business models due to the volatility of Bitcoin's price and increasing mining difficulty.