Why Bitcoiners turned to AI
The 2024 Bitcoin halving reduced block rewards to 3.125 BTC, cutting miners’ income in half. This change, combined with higher electricity costs, expensive equipment maintenance and increased competition, made traditional mining less profitable. Many mining companies struggled to maintain their profit margins and began exploring other revenue sources.
Although Bitcoin mining relies on devices called ASICs, mining companies have access to energy-dense data centers and power infrastructure. As demand for AI compute skyrockets, many miners are repurposing or upgrading their facilities with GPUs to support AI training and inference workloads.
However, artificial intelligence demands immense computing power, especially for training large language models, powering autonomous systems and running enterprise AI tools.
As tech companies race to secure high-performance infrastructure, Bitcoin mining firms are stepping in. Leveraging their existing energy-intensive data centers and upgrading with GPUs, many miners have begun offering AI cloud services or renting out spare capacity. This diversification allows them to generate steady, non-crypto income streams, reducing reliance on volatile Bitcoin (BTC) revenues.
This shift offsets the impact of Bitcoin halving and has led to more profitable and stable revenue streams.
Did you know? AI workloads and Bitcoin mining both demand massive energy. By planning for both, miners can lease excess capacity to AI firms, especially during crypto downturns, turning stranded power into a stable cash flow.
Case study: Core Scientific’s $3.5 billion lifeline
Core Scientific is a strong example of how shifting to AI can help a struggling Bitcoin mining company recover. After facing financial difficulties and filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late 2022 due to low Bitcoin prices and heavy debt, the company restructured and returned to the Nasdaq in early 2024.
In June 2024, Core Scientific signed a 12-year, $3.5 billion contract with CoreWeave, an AI cloud computing company. The agreement allowed Core Scientific to use parts of its infrastructure to support CoreWeave’s high-performance computing needs, moving away from solely mining Bitcoin to also providing AI services.
Although the company’s revenue in the first quarter of 2025 fell to $79.5 million from $179.3 million the previous year, the AI strategy boosted investor confidence. The company’s stock price rose after the CoreWeave deal was announced, reflecting market support for its new direction.
By mid-2025, CoreWeave restarted talks to acquire Core Scientific, following an unsuccessful $1 billion offer the year before. This renewed interest highlights how the company’s focus on AI cushioned the impact of Bitcoin’s halving and positioned it as a key player in the growing AI computing industry.
Hut 8’s AI side hustle
Hut 8 has added AI as a secondary source of income while continuing to prioritize Bitcoin mining. This business model combines stability and growth potential through a five-year contract that includes fixed payments and a revenue-sharing component, ensuring steady income with opportunities for additional earnings based on customer success.
In September 2024, the company launched Highrise AI, a subsidiary offering GPU-as-a-Service using over 1,000 Nvidia H100 chips, specialized hardware for training and running advanced AI models. This move marked Hut 8’s official entry into the high-performance computing (HPC) market.
Despite its AI venture, Hut 8 remains dedicated to Bitcoin mining. In the first quarter of 2025, it mined 167 BTC, a decrease from 716 BTC in the same period of 2024, largely due to the 2024 Bitcoin halving. The company continues to invest in its mining infrastructure, supported by its significant Bitcoin reserve of 10,273 BTC, making it the ninth-largest corporate Bitcoin holder worldwide.
For Hut 8, AI serves as a complementary strategy, diversifying its revenue while keeping Bitcoin mining as the core of its long-term plan.
How are hybrid models gaining traction: Hive and Iren
As Bitcoin mining profits shrink, hybrid models combining mining with AI compute are gaining ground. Companies like Hive and Iren are proving that it is possible to grow AI revenue without abandoning their Bitcoin roots. They are diversifying income while optimizing existing infrastructure.
Hive Digital Technologies
Formerly known as Hive Blockchain, the company rebranded in mid-2023 to reflect its broader high-performance computing ambitions. Hive invested $30 million to deploy Nvidia-powered GPU clusters, marking a decisive pivot toward AI workloads.
This investment…
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