Bitcoin mining companies are increasingly shutting down mining operations and shifting to AI and high-performance computing infrastructure businesses as mining profitability deteriorates and demand for AI data centres surges. Some listed miners have effectively stopped mining, unwound equipment contracts and sold bitcoin holdings. The shift is reflected in a fall in network hashrate. Large AI and HPC deals have drawn capital, while market valuations diverge between miners with and without such contracts.

Selling pressure from bitcoin mining firms has weakened sharply, as miners shift power and data-centre resources to AI and high-performance computing, an analysis said. Listed miners’ active hashrate fell by about 56 EH/s in the first half, down 15 percent, compared with a roughly 10 percent drop for the overall network. Investment is large, with capital spending estimated at about $30 billion. Miner outflows have since eased, with CryptoQuant’s MPI falling to -1.2.