Is AI Killing Bitcoin Mining? Here’s The Truth

Bitcoinist03-16 19:30

Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure A new fault line is opening in the Bitcoin mining debate as AI data centers emerge as a far richer ...

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Ad Disclosure\n\nA new fault line is opening in the Bitcoin mining debate as AI data centers emerge as a far richer ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://bitcoinist.com/is-ai-killing-bitcoin-mining-heres-the-truth/\">Source Link</a>\n\n</div>\n","source":"bitcoinist_highlight","html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>Is AI Killing Bitcoin Mining? 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Here’s The Truth\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2026-03-16 19:30 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://bitcoinist.com/is-ai-killing-bitcoin-mining-heres-the-truth/><strong>Bitcoinist</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure\n\nA new fault line is opening in the Bitcoin mining debate as AI data centers emerge as a far richer ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://bitcoinist.com/is-ai-killing-bitcoin-mining-heres-the-truth/\">Source Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","isBrief":false,"type":0,"news_type":1,"symbol":"BITO","symbol_name":"比特币期货ETF-ProShares","start_time":0,"source_url":"https://bitcoinist.com/is-ai-killing-bitcoin-mining-heres-the-truth/","article_id":"2620746031","we_media_id":null,"thumbnails":["https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ChatGPT-Image-Mar-16-2026-08_47_56-AM.png?resize=350%2C250"],"rights":{"source":"bitcoinist_highlight","url":"https://bitcoinist.com/is-ai-killing-bitcoin-mining-heres-the-truth/","rn_cache_url":null,"directOrigin":true},"url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=2620746031","pubTimestamp":1773660634,"columns":[],"sourceInfo":{"source_id":"bitcoinist_highlight","name":"Bitcoinst"},"weMediaInfo":null,"summary":"A new fault line is opening in the Bitcoin mining debate as AI data centers emerge as a far richer...","collect":0,"end_time":0,"defaultTopTitle":"bitcoinist.com","property":[],"viewcount":null,"language":"en","relate_stocks":{"BITO":"比特币期货ETF-ProShares","BTC":"Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust","BITX":"2倍比特币期货ETF-Volatility Shares"},"translate_title":"AI正在扼杀比特币挖矿吗？这是事实","themeId":null,"isJumpTheme":false,"ttsUrl":null,"symbols_score_info":{"BITX":0.6,"BITO":0.6,"BTC":0.6},"content_text":"Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure\n\nA new fault line is opening in the Bitcoin mining debate as AI data centers emerge as a far richer buyer of electricity than traditional miners. But the argument over whether that dynamic threatens Bitcoin’s long-term security is drawing a sharp pushback from market and energy specialists who say the headline claim misses how mining economics actually work.\nThe flashpoint came from Crypto Banter co-founder Ran Neuner, who framed the issue in stark terms. “AI has killed Bitcoin forever. It became Bitcoin mining’s biggest competitor. Not another crypto. AI,” he wrote on X, arguing that both sectors are chasing the same scarce input: power.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNeuner’s basic math is simple and provocative. He claimed BTC mining generates roughly $57 to $129 of revenue per megawatt, while AI data centers can make $200 to $500 per megawatt from that same electricity.\n“That’s why miners are starting to pivot,” he wrote, pointing to Core Scientific’s AI hosting deal, Hut 8’s $7 billion AI infrastructure agreement, and Cipher Mining’s decision to cut hashrate 51% to focus on AI compute. From there, he pushed the key question: if AI becomes the highest bidder for power, what happens to Bitcoin?\nRelated Reading: Here’s Bitcoin’s Fate If The Strait Of Hormuz Remains Unsettled – Details\nThat framing resonates because it captures something real: miners are no longer competing only with other miners. In certain markets, they are competing with hyperscale-style compute demand that may support a much higher revenue profile. For listed mining firms, especially those already sitting on power infrastructure, the temptation to repurpose capacity for AI is obvious.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWhy AI Won’t Kill Bitcoin Mining\nBut on-chain analyst Willy Woo argued that Neuner’s conclusion confuses miner competition with network-level economics. “What the BTC network is willing to pay for its security is set the BTC price and network use,” Woo wrote. “The price of electricity is irrelevant, that only impacts competition between miners. Study BTC’s difficulty adjustment – it’s a fundamental cornerstone of understanding BTC.”\nThat is the core rebuttal. Bitcoin does not require every miner to remain profitable at every electricity price. It adjusts. If higher-cost operators drop off because AI outbids them for power, mining difficulty can fall, allowing the remaining miners to continue operating under a new equilibrium. In Woo’s reading, AI may reshuffle who mines and where, but it does not automatically “kill” Bitcoin unless it permanently breaks the relationship between price, usage, and the network’s security budget.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRelated Reading: US Bitcoin ETFs Hit 5-Day Inflow Streak For First Time In 2026\nClimate-focused venture capitalist Daniel Batten pushed back even harder, calling the thesis “Nonsense” and arguing that the relationship may increasingly run in the other direction. “It’s the other way around: the evidence tells us that AI is dependent upon Bitcoin for its expansion,” he wrote. “For example, bitcoin mining can be used alongside AI for strategic advantages including monetizing energy during AI datacenter construction, using forward-purchased energy that would otherwise be wasted, [and] smoothing demand patterns of AI load.”\n\nBe very skeptical of any claims such as “Bitcoin mining is unprofitable beyond this threshold” or “AI is killing Bitcoin”.\nNot only is it more nuanced than that, but the research tells us that AI datacenters increasingly need Bitcoin mining (see 7. below)\nFor example\n1. In… pic.twitter.com/G5UvbTUmCc\n— Daniel Batten (@DSBatten) March 15, 2026\nBatten’s broader point is that blanket claims about mining profitability flatten a business with highly variable inputs and revenue streams. He argued that miners in high-cost regions can still operate because heat recycling may be the primary revenue source and BTC the byproduct. Others increasingly own generation assets, mine on intermittent power, or tap stranded energy from oil, gas, and landfills at roughly 1 cent per kilowatt-hour in exchange for higher upfront capex. Demand response programs, FCAS, RECs, and carbon credits can further change the economics.\nHe also stressed that negative power prices during renewable surpluses create openings that generalized “AI beats mining” comparisons fail to capture. “Be very skeptical of any claims such as ‘Bitcoin mining is unprofitable beyond this threshold’ or ‘AI is killing Bitcoin’,” Batten wrote. “Not only is it more nuanced than that, but the research tells us that AI datacenters increasingly need Bitcoin mining.”\nAt press time, BTC traded at $73,329.\nBTC must break above the 1.0 Fib level, 1-week chart | Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView.com\nFeatured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com\n\n\n\nEditorial Process for bitcoinist is centered on delivering thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We uphold strict sourcing standards, and each page undergoes diligent review by our team of top technology experts and seasoned editors. 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