Why AI Companies are Paying a Premium to Acquire Bitcoin Miners
The intersection of artificial intelligence and crypto could exceed expectations, with Bitcoin miners potentially playing a pivotal role in this emerging synergy.
- AI and crypto could add $20 trillion to global GDP by 2030, with Bitcoin miners playing a key role.
- AI companies can use Bitcoin miners for data storage due to their advanced infrastructure.
- Bitcoin miners offer a fast solution for the rapid demand for data centers, aiding AI integration.
Bitwise’s Senior Crypto Research Analyst, Juan Leon, projects that the combined impact of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence could boost global GDP by $20 trillion by 2030. He highlights the Bitcoin miners’ crucial role in driving this market forward.
While many link the convergence of AI and cryptocurrency to the integrity of the blockchain, Juan Leon underscores a different trend: the shortage of data centers has driven AI companies to collaborate with Bitcoin miners to store massive datasets.
Although Bitcoin miners are primarily optimized for cryptocurrency mining, Juan Leon emphasizes that they possess powerful chips, state-of-the-art cooling systems, and advanced infrastructure, all essential for AI companies.
Research from Morgan Stanley indicates that BTC miners are trading at significant discounts relative to the intrinsic value of the power they secure, highlighting why they could be an ideal solution to meet the growing demand for data centers.
Bitcoin Mining Data Centers to Meet AI Demands
Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft are projected to collectively spend approximately $200 billion on data center expansions in 2025. About 83% of the data centers currently under construction have already been pre-leased by AI and cloud companies.
AI cloud provider CoreWeave proposed to acquire Core Scientific, a Bitcoin mining company, for $1.6 billion, representing a 55% premium above market price. This offer was made just a week after Core Scientific announced the largest miner-AI partnership to date, a $3.5 billion deal to host CoreWeave’s AI-related services over the next 12 years.
Other miners that have announced similar agreements include Hut 8 and Iris Energy.
With data centers struggling to keep pace with the AI boom, Bitcoin mining could offer a valuable solution, according to Leon.
An April report by Morgan Stanley highlighted that BTC miners provide the fastest route to bringing new data centers online due to their substantial power access. The report outlines several advantages of crypto mining facilities for AI, including established power systems, grid access approvals, low-cost power for mining, and opportunities for economic arbitrage.
With Bitcoin miners reportedly trading lower than their intrinsic value based on the power they can secure; this could support why CoreWeave was willing to pay a 55% premium for Core Scientific.
Potential of AI-Backing Data Centers
AI companies using Bitcoin miners as data centers could offer a new revenue stream for miners. This diversification allows them to earn from mining and validating Bitcoin while also providing services to data companies.
The Bitwise CIO references PwC projections indicating that AI and crypto will contribute $15.7 trillion and $1.8 trillion, respectively, to the global economy by 2030. While this totals $17.5 trillion, Juan Leon suggests their combined impact could reach $20 trillion or more.
Leon argues that while Nvidia, a major producer of AI chips, already boasts a market cap exceeding $3 trillion, the increasing demand for data centers could likewise catapult the Bitcoin mining industry to unprecedented heights.
