Bitcoin Companies Move to AI Work
Companies that made Bitcoin with big computers now use the computers for AI.
Some companies use big computers to make Bitcoin. People call this mining.
The price of Bitcoin went up in August. It is about $80,000 now.
But the price is lower than last year. In October 2025, one bitcoin was about $124,000.
So many companies now use their computers for AI.
Riot Platforms made a $9bn deal with Anthropic this month.
The change costs a lot of money. It is hard to go back.
Experts say more companies will change to AI.
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Bitcoin Miners Turn Their Computers to AI Work
Companies such as Riot Platforms and Bitdeer are signing big AI deals as Bitcoin stays below its peak.
Bitcoin mining companies bought thousands of powerful computers when the price of Bitcoin was going up. These computers check Bitcoin payments, and the companies get new digital coins as a reward.
But the rewards have fallen, and the price has fallen too. One bitcoin was worth about $124,000 (£91,000) at its peak in October 2025. It is now around $80,000, so it is up almost 30% in August, but it is still far below the peak.
Because of this, many companies are moving to artificial intelligence. Riot Platforms signed a $9bn, 20-year deal with Anthropic this month, and Bitdeer announced a 16-year deal with the same company.
Some companies are even changing their names. Applied Blockchain is now Applied Digital, and TerraWulf's website says the firm focuses on "next-generation AI and high-performance computing".
Changing a mine into an AI centre is expensive, and some companies have sold Bitcoin to pay for it. After they make the change, it is very difficult and costly to go back.
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Bitcoin Miners Switch to AI as Price Stays Below Its October Peak
Riot Platforms, Bitdeer and others are signing multi-billion-dollar computing deals with AI firms instead of mining cryptocurrency.
Companies that spent large sums on giant banks of powerful computers to mine Bitcoin are now using that computing power for artificial intelligence. Because Bitcoin operates without a central authority, these computers verify transactions and are rewarded with newly created digital coins. However, the rewards have been reduced and the value of the coins has dropped since last year.
One bitcoin was worth about $124,000 (£91,000) at its peak in October 2025. It has since fallen sharply, although it has recently rallied to around $80,000, which means it is up almost 30% so far in August.
Analysts say mining companies are pivoting to AI because they have years of experience in finding cheap electricity and running large data centres efficiently. TerraWulf, Ionic Digital, Core Scientific, Iris Energy, Bitdeer, Riot Platforms and Hut 8 are among the firms moving investment towards AI. Riot Platforms signed a $9bn, 20-year compute deal with Anthropic earlier this month. Enegix, which opened a huge mining site in Kazakhstan in 2020, is also changing. Its chief executive, Yerbolsyn Sarsenov, said the company was "moving confidently towards artificial intelligence".
Refitting mines is expensive, and some companies have sold part of their Bitcoin holdings to pay for it. Wolfie Zhao, from The Energy Mag, said the industry would keep moving away from mining. "Once that multi-gigawatt power infrastructure has been retrofitted to AI or HPC colocation, there is no turning back," he said.
Not everyone is leaving. Bitdeer, which claims to be the largest Bitcoin miner in the world, has announced a 16-year deal to provide compute for Anthropic, but its chief strategy officer, Haris Basit, said the company would continue mining Bitcoin.
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