MARA CEO: AI Beats Bitcoin Mining in Revenue Generation

MARA CEO Fred Thiel says that artificial intelligence (AI) delivers more revenue from power than Bitcoin mining. The company's strategy reflects tougher mining economics, where electricity remains the largest operating expense and Bitcoin's halvings reduce rewards.

Thiel notes that miners must control power directly or work closely with utilities to stay competitive. MARA began buying sites for its operations in 2023 and early 2024, often below replacement cost, and now owns about 70% of the infrastructure supporting its operations.

The company has partnered with Starwood on a platform targeting about 1 gigawatt of near-term computing capacity, with a path beyond 2.5 GW. It also agreed to acquire a Texas site with access to roughly 2 GW of power for digital infrastructure.

Thiel rejected the idea that AI will replace mining across MARA's portfolio, saying 'Bitcoin is a great way to optimize electrons, even in a data center-centric world.' Mining remains useful in areas with free, stranded or unusually cheap energy because it can absorb power that might otherwise go unused.