Public Bitcoin miners shift focus to AI infrastructure
Mining revenues decline as income from AI infrastructure grows significantly.
1Significant decline in mining
Public Bitcoin miners' hashrate dropped 13.4% from Q4 2025 to Q2 2026, falling from 368.3 EH/s to 319 EH/s. Excluding Bitdeer, the decline reached 21.2%. In contrast, the Bitcoin network's average hashrate decreased by 10.6% during the same period. These figures indicate miners are redirecting infrastructure to other areas.
2Transition to AI infrastructure
Core Scientific earned $27.5 million from Bitcoin mining in Q2, while colocation revenues reached $136.7 million. Similarly, TeraWulf generated $12.8 million from mining versus $31.9 million from HPC lease revenues. These companies now derive most of their income from non-mining activities.
3Changing economic dynamics
Following China's 2021 mining ban, the North American mining sector that expanded rapidly is now undergoing a different transformation. Declining mining profitability coupled with rising demand for AI infrastructure since 2022 has led many miners to completely redirect their power capacities.
4Bitdeer exception
Unlike other miners, Bitdeer continues to expand mining operations. Its hashrate increased 44% to 63 EH/s during the same period. Companies like Riot Platforms remain in early transition stages, still earning most revenue from Bitcoin mining.
5Historical context
The hashrate decline and recovery after China's 2021 ban shows the sector has experienced major fluctuations before. However, the current transformation is different as miners completely shift infrastructure to AI services.
6Sector-wide impacts
This transition will affect a broad ecosystem from mining equipment manufacturers to energy providers. The conversion of large-scale mining facilities into AI data centers could significantly alter energy consumption patterns.
7Investor reactions
Public mining company stocks are showing varied performance during this strategic shift. AI-focused firms receive more positive investor response, while those sticking to traditional mining models trade at lower valuations.
8Future projections
Experts predict more mining companies will shift toward AI infrastructure in coming periods. While this trend poses risks to Bitcoin's decentralized nature, it may also yield positive results in terms of energy efficiency.
Original article: Cointelegraph.com News — Bitcoin madencileri AI altyapısına yöneliyor