In recent months, a remarkable transformation has taken place within the world of cryptocurrency mining — one that may signal a profound shift in how major mining operations generate value and view their infrastructure. According to a report by Coin Photon, roughly **70% of the largest Bitcoin miners (by hashrate) are now relying on revenue from artificial‑intelligence (AI) initiatives or high‑performance computing (HPC) contracts, rather than purely from Bitcoin block rewards alone.
A Dual Business Model Emerges
Traditionally, Bitcoin miners invested heavily in ASIC machines, securing ever‑greater hashrate in order to earn BTC block rewards. But the economics of pure mining are changing. The article notes that many of these major miners have “activated large land sites and existing infrastructure” and are turning them into AI‑hosting or HPC platforms with GPU compute contracts.
For example:
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TeraWulf signed two ten‑year hosting contracts with Fluidstack for about 200 MW at their Lake Mariner site; one of these contracts is backed by Google, estimated value ~US$1.8 billion.
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Core Scientific doubled down with a 12‑year partnership with CoreWeave, adding around 70 MW of HPC capacity.
What this means is: miners are now less exclusively focused on raw hashrate and more focused on being data‑centres for AI or HPC work. That gives them a second revenue stream — often steadier and less correlated with Bitcoin network difficulty, block subsidy, and hashrate competition.
Why This Shift? Economics & Compelling Numbers
The article provides some illustrative comparisons:
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Current estimates for modern ASIC mining revenue: raw revenue before electricity & OPEX is approx US$1–1.6 million per MW per year.
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But in the AI‐hosting contract space, TeraWulf’s deal works out to ~US$1.85 million per MW per year in revenue.
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That difference—despite higher capex or conversion cost—is meaningful, especially for miners aiming for more predictable cash‑flows. The article also emphasises that cost of electricity, utilisation, and capital investment remain central.
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The demand side: Data‑centre power consumption in the U.S. might reach ~606 TWh by 2030, as AI requires massive compute infrastructure.
Thus miners with land + grid connections + power contracts are re‐positioning themselves as “AI campus” operators, not just ASIC farms. Investors increasingly look at metrics like “MW of AI contract” and “Revenue per MW per annum” instead of simply “EH/s hashrate” alone.
Strategic Implications for the Mining Industry
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Hashrate growth may slow. Some miners are redirecting capacity from ASIC deployment to AI compute. For example, Riot Platforms is reportedly reconsidering 600 MW at their Corsicana site for AI/HPC usage, which lowered their hashrate forecast for end‑2025.
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Re‑valuation of miners. Companies may trade less on pure hashrate metrics and more on contract revenue, flexibility of power sourcing, and scalability of AI/HPC hosting.
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Grid and power constraints matter. The limiting factor for many sites may not be hashrate deployment alone, but obtaining large contiguous land + substations + long‑term power contracts. These become strategic assets in the AI hosting era.
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Risk/reward changes. Though AI hosting promises more stable revenue, miners now must compete for GPU infrastructure, manage cooling and data‑centre operations, and handle longer contract terms — shifting their skillset and business model.
Looking Ahead: What to Watch
From the article, key indicators for the evolving mining/AI hosting space include:
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How many MW of AI/HPC hosting contracts each miner has secured
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Revenue per MW per year for these contracts vs. pure mining revenue
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Power sourcing and grid connection timelines (especially in high‑growth states like Texas)
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Availability and cost of GPU supply (e.g., Nvidia’s H100/H200 series)
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Developments in ASIC efficiency or Bitcoin block reward changes, which could affect pure mining profitability and therefore drive more miners to diversify
Conclusion
The headline—“70% of major Bitcoin miners now live off AI revenue”—captures a seismic shift: a once‑niche subset of the crypto mining industry is rapidly evolving into a broader data‑centre/AI hosting business. While the traditional model of mining using ASICs remains relevant, the pursuit of more predictable and higher‑margin revenue has motivated top miners to repurpose infrastructure into AI/HPC operations.
For investors, analysts, and operators in the crypto space, this means that future valuation and strategic positioning will hinge less on “how many exahashes of hashrate you’ve got” and more on “how many megawatts under AI contract you manage, and how stable/long‑term those contracts are.”
The landscape is changing — mining is no longer just about solving crypto puzzles; increasingly, it’s also about servicing the AI compute boom.
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