Bitcoin miners are freeing up computing power for AI

Author | TheEnergyMag
Compiled by | Wu Says Blockchain

TL;DR:

· In the first half of 2026, the actual computing power of listed mining companies decreased by about 56 EH/s, with some electricity redirected to AI/HPC; related revenue in the second quarter increased by 52% quarter-over-quarter.

· The median revenue per megawatt hour for HPC hosting is about $175, similar to the latest generation of Bitcoin mining machines; AI cloud services are around $941, with significantly higher revenue.

· The revenue from Zcash mining is about $586 per megawatt hour, having exceeded $700 just over a week ago, but the volatility is much higher than that of long-term contracted HPC hosting businesses.

· The revenue potential for mining companies shifting to AI is considerable, but capital expenditures are enormous, with 14 companies investing $18.6 billion in a single quarter, and only some companies able to achieve ideal returns.

Bitcoin mining companies shut down on a large scale in the second quarter, which may seem like surrender, but that is not the case.

According to TheEnergyMag's analysis of listed mining companies, in the first half of 2026, these companies' actual computing power is expected to decrease by 56 EH/s, a drop of 15%, higher than the 10% drop across the entire Bitcoin network. A significant amount of electricity has not completely exited the computing power sector but has been redirected to AI infrastructure transformation.

This change is already reflected in financial statements. Among comparable mining companies, the directly disclosed revenue from HPC and AI businesses increased by 52% compared to the first quarter. For the companies that are transforming the fastest, the second quarter also marked the first time that HPC hosting or AI cloud business revenue exceeded their shrinking Bitcoin mining revenue.

The transformation costs are high. Previously, an analysis by Miner Weekly tracked about $30 billion in capital expenditures for listed mining companies and their AI counterparts. PwC currently estimates that by 2050, broader AI data center construction may require an investment of $31.6 trillion.

In the latest comparison by TheEnergyMag, 14 companies spent $18.6 billion within the same quarter. Among the 6 infrastructure providers that have continuously disclosed HPC revenue, the overall capital expenditure of the companies is nearly 15 times their total revenue during the same period.

The huge gap between capital expenditures and revenue raises the core question of this article:

How much revenue can AI electricity generate per megawatt hour? How does it compare to the current computing power of digital asset mining?

TheEnergyMag estimates that among 6 comparable AI power infrastructure providers, their sustainable HPC revenue is about $86 to $300 per megawatt hour, with a median of about $180.

The above data is derived from sustainable HPC, hosting, or base rental income divided by estimated billable electricity consumption. In cases where they can be separately identified, renovation compensation and construction-related income have been excluded.

These estimates are sensitive to operational time. A facility delivered halfway through the quarter cannot be considered as operating continuously for the entire 91 days. Additionally, straight-line lease accounting may recognize revenue before actual cash is received.

Despite these limitations, companies adopting a landlord model still see their revenue concentrated in a relatively narrow range of about $140 to $200 per megawatt hour.

When companies sell not just powered space but computing power services, their business model changes.

CoreWeave (NASDAQ: CRWV) invested $6.42 billion in that quarter. Based on its data center revenue costs and estimated actual operating power, we estimate its hosting cost to be about $322 per megawatt hour; depending on different assumptions about capacity ramp-up speed, this cost ranges from $268 to $403 per megawatt hour.

This cost covers far more than just the rent charged by data center owners. This also explains why new cloud service providers can spend over $300 per megawatt hour on infrastructure, while mining companies transitioning to data center owners initially only recognize $150 to $200 in revenue per megawatt hour.

The revenue disclosed by full-stack operators is even higher. IREN's AI cloud business revenue is estimated at about $807 per megawatt hour, HIVE at about $924, WhiteFiber at $958, and Bitdeer (NASDAQ: BTDR) at about $1,213.

These figures cannot be directly compared to rental income, as they also include the value of GPU, network, software, and computing power scheduling services. At the same time, the utilization rate of computing power and the risk of hardware obsolescence are borne by the operators. Bitdeer particularly illustrates this distinction clearly: its AI cloud business generates the highest unit electricity revenue in the group, but the costs disclosed for this business segment exceed the revenue.

How does it compare to Bitcoin mining?

Even so, the revenue level of AI cloud services is still significantly higher by an order of magnitude. Its estimated median revenue is $940.74 per megawatt hour, more than 5 times the $179.13 revenue generated by Bitmain's latest generation mining machine Antminer S23 Hyd., and more than 8 times the $113.45 revenue of the S21 Pro.

More importantly, is the comparison between Bitcoin mining and HPC hosting businesses. TheEnergyMag estimates that the median revenue for HPC hosting is $174.90 per megawatt hour, nearly the same as the current mining revenue of S23 Hyd. However, the underlying economic models of the two are completely different: hosting revenue is typically locked in through multi-year contracts, and electricity costs may be borne by the customer; while Bitcoin mining revenue fluctuates continuously with Bitcoin prices, network difficulty, and transaction fees.

The revenue level of Zcash mining falls between the two. The Z15 Pro, rated at 840 KSol/s and a power consumption of 2.78 kW, is currently estimated to generate $585.61 per megawatt hour, about 3 times the unit electricity revenue of S23 Hyd., but with significantly higher volatility. Just over a week ago, Zcash mining revenue exceeded $700 per megawatt hour.

This means that the unit electricity revenue from Zcash mining is about 3.3 times that of HPC and 4.5 times that of the latest generation Bitcoin mining machines.

--- --- TheEnergyMag, August 24, 2026

This makes the unit electricity revenue from Zcash mining temporarily higher than most HPC hosting agreements and comparable to lower levels of GPU cloud service revenue.

But the word "temporarily" is crucial here. Mining companies can quickly deploy ASIC miners and sell mining outputs in a liquid market, but related revenue can also drop significantly overnight. HPC parks may require years of continuous capital investment and construction, but once good-credit tenants are introduced, they can secure contract revenue for up to ten years or even longer.

The revenue per megawatt hour explains why mining companies want to introduce AI tenants, while capital expenditures determine why only some mining companies can achieve substantial returns.