Will bitcoin miners' pivot to AI data centers be worth the cost?

The anticipated gross payout from AI/HPC partnerships no doubt is large, though "data centers are a big spend, and we're already seeing Bitcoin miners like Terawulf ( WULF ) and Cipher Mining ( CIFR ) looking to raise billions in debt or convertible notes to finance the expansion," Coin Bureau's Puckrin ￰0￱ instance, HIVE Digital ( HIVE ) recently bought a 7.2 megawatt data center in Toronto, Canada, through its BUZZ High Performance Computing business for an aggregate purchase price of CAD$17.3M (US$12.4M). Under the terms, it paid to the vendor CAD$12M and issued 1M common shares at CAD$5.25 per HIVE share. "But just like with AI companies, it's unclear how long it will take for this spend to translate into profits," Puckrin added.

"For miners, the clock is ticking on profitability, so those making the pivot will want to see rapid results." Charley Brady, vice president of investor relations at bitcoin miner BitFuFu ( FUFU ) noted that a single data center could require up to hundreds of millions of dollars to support AI workloads, which require GPUs and AI accelerators, which are much more expensive than ASICs used for bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) ￰1￱ miners already have the land, permits and grid connections, so the conversions to support AI can happen faster than building from scratch, giving them a structural ￰2￱ on Crypto VanEck Crypto Monthly Recap For September 2025 Cryptocurrencies Are Loving The Rally In Bitcoin America's Credibility Is Eroding: Buy Bitcoin Bitcoin rally loses steam as crypto prices slide Gold glitters, bitcoin booms: Deutsche Bank highlights shift away from dollar dependence