Bitcoin mining companies have locked in contracts worth around $150 billion tied to artificial intelligence projects, according to Bernstein. These deals cover over 7.5 gigawatts of electrical capacity and extend across multiple years, signaling a shift in how miners generate revenue.
Traditionally, bitcoin miners earn income by validating transactions and receiving bitcoin rewards. However, with upcoming halvings reducing payouts and increasing competition rendering older equipment less profitable, many miners are now leasing or selling excess power capacity to AI data centers.
Miners hold a significant edge because their facilities are already hooked up to solid power grids. AI firms, on the other hand, face hurdles developing new sites due to lengthy permits, construction, and infrastructure setup. Renting existing mining infrastructure allows these tech companies to launch operations faster, possibly gaining critical months that can translate into billions in value.
Bernstein’s $150 billion figure represents the aggregate estimated value of contracts over long terms, sometimes stretching 10 to 20 years, not immediate revenue. Miners still need to invest in building out capacity, installing equipment, and meeting strict uptime requirements.
For example, Hut 8 has inked a 15-year lease deal worth nearly $10 billion, while TeraWulf’s 20-year contract could bring in about $19 billion. IREN has also announced multi-billion dollar agreements with cloud operators. These commitments provide a rare clarity for miners, who otherwise face revenue volatility tied to bitcoin price swings, network difficulty, and halving events.
This trend reveals a deeper industrial pivot from solely producing bitcoin to becoming digital infrastructure providers. Some mining firms now position themselves as data center operators offering reliable power to AI workloads.
