In the first few months of 2026, Bitcoin prices fell, but a basket of listed mining companies' stocks significantly strengthened. Foreign media commented that this divergence was not due to short-term sentiment fluctuations, but rather a change in the core business logic of mining companies: the market began to view them as AI infrastructure companies, rather than just crypto businesses that relied on mining revenue.
Mining company stock prices diverge from Bitcoin's performance.
The article cites data from 10X Research, stating that since 2026, a basket of crypto mining companies' stocks have risen by more than 50%, while Bitcoin has fallen by about 17% during the same period. Among them, TeraWulf has seen a gain of over 70%.
The article argues that investors now prioritize these companies' AI computing power delivery capabilities, the scale of signed contracts, lease terms, and the qualifications of their partners, rather than simply looking at how much Bitcoin they mine. For the market, the valuation logic for long-term locked-up dollar revenue and mining revenue affected by halvings and cryptocurrency price fluctuations has changed.
AI business brings more stable cash flow
Bitcoin mining has always been a highly volatile industry. Halving of block rewards directly reduces revenue, and mining companies also face pressure from electricity prices, equipment upgrades, and competition for network hashrate. The article states that these factors will further diminish the attractiveness of simply mining between 2025 and 2026.
At the same time, the AI boom has driven up demand for data centers. Mining companies already possess large-scale power access, cooling systems, and high-density server rooms—resources that are precisely the infrastructure urgently needed by AI cloud service providers and hyperscale customers. Compared to mining, if mining companies can sign 15-year leases with AI customers, they can obtain more stable and predictable contract revenue.
The article states that publicly traded mining companies have announced AI and high-performance computing contracts totaling over $70 billion. Some industry forecasts also suggest that by the end of 2026, revenue from AI businesses for publicly traded mining companies could rise to 70%, compared to approximately 30% currently.
Several mining companies have signed long-term contracts.
- Hut 8 signed a 15-year, $9.8 billion lease.
- TeraWulf disclosed total contract revenue of $12.8 billion.
- IREN's partnership with Microsoft is worth approximately $9.7 billion.
In addition, Core Scientific secured approximately $10 billion in contract revenue through its partnership with CoreWeave; Galaxy Digital also signed a 15-year, 800-megawatt agreement with CoreWeave, which is expected to generate approximately $4.5 billion in revenue.
The article also mentions that to drive this transformation, mining companies are selling their Bitcoin reserves and taking on debt financing. Publicly available mining companies have sold over 15,000 BTC while assuming billions of dollars in debt to fund the expansion of their AI data centers.
Transformation or change of Bitcoin mining structure
The article argues that this change will not only affect the valuation of mining companies, but may also impact the Bitcoin network itself. If more and more mining companies invest electricity and capital in AI businesses, their operational priorities, cryptocurrency holding strategies, and the pace of cryptocurrency sales may all change.
For the Bitcoin market, this means that mining companies are no longer just simple cryptocurrency producers. They may gradually transform into infrastructure operators focused on electricity, data centers, and computing power leasing, while the importance of mining operations will be diminished.
