Key Points
- Bitcoin miner Core Scientific converts parts on infrastructure to power AI computing amidst a slump in BTC revenue post-halving.
- Bitcoin’s price is now around $61k.
According to the latest reports from Bloomberg, Bitcoin miner Core Scientific converts part of its infrastructure to power high-performance computing operations for AI companies.
The company reportedly deployed a 16-megawatt data center capacity for AI startup CoreWeave Inc., and plans include converting more of its infrastructure in the future.
The decision comes amidst a slump in Bitcoin mining revenue and also a surging demand for data centers to host graphic processing units to power AI apps.
Bitcoin mining revenue was cut in half on April 20 during the Bitcoin halving event. The halving reduced Bitcoin rewards to miners that validate transaction data on the network. This event takes place every four years in order to maintain a hard cap of 21 million tokens and keep Bitcoin from being inflationary.
The Bitcoin halving event in 2024 slashed the BTC miner revenue from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC, an event that is estimated to trigger a loss of $10 billion in annual revenue for miners.
Miners shift interest towards AI to boost revenue
Large-scale miners, such as Core Scientific are now trying to boost the revenue and take advantage of the benefits that come together with the AI boom in the world. They are doing this by converting some of their assets to provide data-center services to AI companies that rely on energy-intensive facilities.
Core Scientific’s CEO, Adam Sullivan, said that they are in discussion with customers from the industry, and they expect to build out this part of their business in 2024.
He continued and said that they aim to become a market leader and provide the digital infrastructure for high-performance computing.
Bloomberg notes that the complete conversion of 500 megawatts of Bitcoin mining infrastructure to host high-performance computing will probably take around 3-4 years. The company expected to begin generating revenue as its adds more clients.
In Q1 2024, the company posted $179.3 million in revenue, which translates into an increase of about $58.6 million over the same period last year.
Miners are adopting AI technology to improve operational efficiency and diversify revenue streams.
The use of AI in Bitcoin mining focuses on aspects such as:
- Energy consumption optimization
- Predictive equipment maintenance
- Exploring AI-based high-performance computing (HPC) for complex calculations
AI integration helps miners adapt to the ever-evolving cryptocurrency landscape and maintain profitability.
Bitcoin price at $61k
Bitcoin is now struggling at around $61k, and the coin is down by over 2% in the past 24 hours on CoinMarketCap.
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The recent Bitcoin price fluctuations have affected network fundamentals. BTC mining difficulty was set to decrease by 5.5%, marking the largest single downward adjustment since the end of the 2022 bear market.
As previously reported, Bitcoin miners maintain optimism not only thanks to the AI boom but also to the interest in BTC ETFs and the Runes Protocol launched on Bitcoin on the halving day.
The Bitcoin halving catalyzed a shift towards more efficient operations and capital deployment, being a great opportunity for scaled, well-capitalized miners.
