Bitcoin miners are dumping their BTC holdings and signing billions in AI infrastructure contracts as the cost of mining a single bitcoin now exceeds its market price by nearly $10,000.
A CoinShares report published March 27 found that publicly traded miners spent an average of $79,995 to produce one bitcoin in Q4 2025. With BTC trading around $66,600 on March 29, 2026, every coin mined represents a significant loss. That math is driving the fastest industry transformation since the 2024 halving.
- Public bitcoin miners have signed over $70 billion in AI and high-performance computing contracts collectively.
- Average mining cost hit $79,995 per BTC in Q4 2025, roughly $10,000 above current market price.
- Miners have reduced treasury holdings by over 15,000 BTC from peak levels to fund the transition.
- CoinShares projects listed miners could earn 70% of revenue from AI by end of 2026, up from 30% today.
Published: March 29, 2026 12:00 UTC
The economics forcing the shift
The numbers tell the story. Mining one bitcoin costs nearly $80,000 when you account for electricity, equipment depreciation, and overhead. Bitcoin trades at roughly $66,600. That gap has widened since the April 2024 halving cut block rewards in half, and rising energy prices tied to geopolitical tensions have made it worse.
CoinShares Head of Research James Butterfill projects that publicly listed miners could derive 70% of their revenue from AI operations by year-end, up from about 30% today. The shift is not a side project. It is a full strategic reorientation.
Bitcoin’s network hashrate reflects the pressure. After peaking at 1,160 exahashes per second in October 2025, hashrate dropped to roughly 850 EH/s by February 2026. It has since recovered partially to about 1,020 EH/s, but the three consecutive negative difficulty adjustments mark the steepest sustained decline since July 2022.
Who is selling and how much
The treasury liquidations are widespread. Publicly listed miners have collectively reduced their BTC holdings by more than 15,000 BTC from peak levels. Core Scientific sold approximately 1,900 BTC worth $175 million in January and plans to sell substantially all remaining holdings in Q1 2026. Riot sold 1,818 BTC worth $162 million in December. Bitdeer completely depleted its treasury reserves in February.
Marathon Digital, which holds the largest public miner BTC position at 53,822 coins, amended its treasury policy in March to permit sales for the first time. That policy change signals even the most committed bitcoin holders among miners are preparing to fund AI infrastructure.
The AI contracts replacing mining revenue
The scale of AI contracts dwarfs anything the mining sector has seen. CoreWeave’s expanded partnership with Core Scientific alone is valued at $10.2 billion over 12 years. TeraWulf has locked in $12.8 billion in contracted high-performance computing revenue. Hut 8 signed a $7 billion, 15-year lease for AI infrastructure at its River Bend campus.
Core Scientific now earns 39% of total revenue from AI colocation services. TeraWulf generates 27% from its AI segment. IREN is building up to 200 megawatts of liquid-cooled GPU infrastructure. Cipher Digital issued $1.7 billion in senior secured notes to fund its expansion, with quarterly interest expenses jumping from $3.2 million to $33.4 million.
High-performance computing (HPC) is a category of data processing that handles workloads too complex for standard servers, including AI model training, scientific simulations, and large-scale data analysis.
What comes next for the network
The dual question facing the industry is whether the AI pivot creates long-term value for mining companies and whether the BTC sell-off creates short-term selling pressure on bitcoin’s price. Over 15,000 BTC hitting the market from miners alone adds supply at a time when ETF outflows have stretched for five consecutive weeks.
CoinShares forecasts that Bitcoin’s hashrate will reach 1.8 zetahashes by end of 2026 and 2 zetahashes by March 2027, but only if bitcoin recovers to $100,000. If prices stay below $80,000, more miners will exit and hashrate will continue falling. For the companies making the switch, the bet is clear: AI contracts pay in dollars, on schedule, with margins that bitcoin mining can no longer match.
Frequently asked questions
Why are bitcoin miners switching to AI?
Mining one bitcoin now costs roughly $80,000 in production expenses, while BTC trades near $66,600. AI infrastructure contracts offer predictable revenue with better margins, prompting miners to repurpose their data centers and power capacity for high-performance computing.
How much bitcoin have miners sold to fund AI?
Public miners have reduced their collective BTC holdings by over 15,000 bitcoin from peak levels. Core Scientific sold 1,900 BTC worth $175 million, Riot sold 1,818 BTC worth $162 million, and Bitdeer fully depleted its reserves. Marathon has amended its policy to allow sales.
Does the mining exodus threaten bitcoin’s security?
Bitcoin’s hashrate fell from 1,160 EH/s to 850 EH/s between October 2025 and February 2026 before recovering to about 1,020 EH/s. While the decline is significant, Bitcoin’s difficulty adjustment mechanism ensures the network remains secure even with reduced hashrate.
