# Public Bitcoin miners shift focus to AI infrastructure

Mining revenues decline as income from AI infrastructure grows significantly.

- **Source:** [Cointelegraph.com News](https://brifing.si/source/2e81e982-0137-4db0-8ac2-351f37085775)
- **Published:** 2026-08-13
- **Topic:** [Business](https://brifing.si/c/business)
- **Original article:** <https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-miners-hashrate-ai-data-centers-hpc?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound>
- **On Brifing:** https://brifing.si/s/8ae57e25-9f03-471b-be7c-ac19cbfebb82

## Significant 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.

## Transition 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.

## Changing 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.

## Bitdeer 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.

## Historical 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.

## Sector-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.

## Investor 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.

## Future 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.

## Sources covering this story

- https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-miners-hashrate-ai-data-centers-hpc?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound — 

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_Summary written by Brifing from the original reporting. Copyright in the original article belongs to its publisher; read the full piece at the link above._
