Bitcoin miners pivot into AI power suppliers

Bitcoin miners are becoming increasingly important suppliers in the artificial intelligence infrastructure market because they already control scarce power capacity and grid-connected data centre sites, according to research from Bernstein.

Bernstein analysts estimated publicly traded Bitcoin miners control more than 27 gigawatts of planned power capacity and have announced more than $90 billion in AI-related agreements covering 3.7 gigawatts with hyperscalers, neocloud providers and semiconductor companies.

“The median waiting time to secure a GW of power is nothing less than ~50 months across states,”

Bernstein analysts Gautam Chhugani, Mahika Sapra, Sanskar Chindalia and Harsh Misra wrote in the research note.

The report argued electricity access has overtaken chip supply as the primary bottleneck for scaling AI data centres because utility providers can take more than four years to approve new grid connections, including in data centre-heavy states such as Texas.

Bernstein said growing regulatory scrutiny and local opposition to large-scale data centres are increasing the value of existing mining facilities because Bitcoin miners already operate energy-intensive, high-density computing infrastructure connected to the grid.

The firm added that many miners are diversifying into AI infrastructure following the 2024 Bitcoin halving, which reduced mining rewards and pressured profit margins, prompting operators to seek new revenue streams from AI hosting and high-performance computing.

Soluna Holdings recently reported a 58% increase in first-quarter revenue driven mainly by data centre hosting, while Bernstein identified IREN as a leading example of the transition following multibillion-dollar AI-related agreements with Microsoft.

At the time of reporting, Bitcoin price was $76,497.29.