Artificial intelligence is pulling investment, electricity and attention away from Bitcoin mining in some ways. But ViaBTC CEO Yang Haipo argues that AI is not taking over Bitcoin mining’s role. Instead, the two fields now compete for the same resources, and mining is being pushed toward cheaper and more flexible power sources.
Miners feel the pressure
Bitcoin mining has already gone through a rough period. Network hashrate rose above 1.1 zettahashes per second in October 2025, then fell back to around 900 exahashes per second several times this year. Mining difficulty also dropped sharply, with declines of 11.16% in February and 10.09% in June. Those swings hurt many operators.
At the same time, more mining companies are moving toward AI and high-performance computing. Core Scientific, for example, reported a negative 56% profit margin on its own Bitcoin mining in the second quarter. That kind of result makes AI infrastructure look attractive. But Yang does not think AI is directly replacing mining machines. Bitcoin ASICs are built for SHA-256 and cannot be switched to AI workloads. GPU-based mining is not economical for most Bitcoin operations either.
Power infrastructure is the real asset
What miners own, in many cases, is not just hardware. It is the land, substations and grid connections they secured over years. That type of infrastructure is hard to build quickly, which makes it valuable to AI companies that need reliable power fast. Yang says this gives miners a clear opportunity. They can sell or repurpose their sites for AI workloads, or keep them running on Bitcoin if electricity costs stay low.
Still, AI cannot use every type of power supply. Large language models and other computing jobs need stable, steady electricity. Bitcoin mining does not. It can run on surplus solar power, hydro energy, associated gas or other sources that are hard to sell. When electricity prices rise, miners can simply power down. This flexibility is something AI operations cannot easily copy.
Older machines may find new homes
As big mining firms move some operations toward AI, the secondary market for Bitcoin miners is likely to grow. A machine that is too expensive to run in a high-cost data center can still be useful if it is bought cheaply and moved to a place with very low power prices. That allows smaller miners, energy companies and private operators to stay in the game. Bitcoin mining could become more geographically spread out as a result.
The next halving, expected around 2028, will cut the block subsidy by another 50%. That will force miners to rely even more on cheap energy, good equipment and cash flow. Yang sees this as a reallocation, not a takeover. AI may take power infrastructure, capital and attention. But Bitcoin mining still has a place, especially where electricity is cheap, wasted or unreliable.
