Bitcoin Miners Shift to AI Infrastructure

The digital asset ecosystem is attempting to stabilize following a period of intense deleveraging, with institutional appetite and corporate efficiency taking center stage. As mining firms aggressively pivot toward artificial intelligence and fintech giants lean into leaner operations, the narrative is shifting from pure speculation to infrastructure utility. Stay up on the crypto news that matters with "Crypto Currents," daily from The Fly. Join us at 2 PM ET for your essential briefing on the fast-moving world of cryptocurrency on FlyCast radio.MINERS ABANDON BITCOIN PRODUCTION FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INFRASTRUCTURE:The transition from digital asset production to high-performance computing is accelerating as publicly traded miners face historic economic pressure., bitcoinmining difficulty recently plummeted by 11%, the sharpest decline since the 2021 China crackdown, as revenue per petahash fell 50% from its peak. In response, Bitfarmsshares surged 17% after the companyand rebrand as Keel Infrastructure to focus entirely on AI and HPC data centers. This structural shift is mirrored by Cango, which sold 4,451 bitcoin for $305M to repay debt and fund the deployment of GPU infrastructure,. Even as some miners capitulate, analysts at Bernstein reiterated a $150,000 price target for bitcoin by 2026, arguing that the current drawdown is the "weakest bear case" in the asset's history.CORPORATE TREASURIES AND FINTECH GIANTS NAVIGATE VOLATILITY THROUGH EFFICIENCY:Major equity players are recalibrating their balance sheets to weather the ongoing "risk-off" macro environment. Strategycontinued its accumulation strategy, purchasing 1,142 bitcoin for $90M last week,. While Strategy doubles down, Blockis reportedly preparing to cut up to 10% of its workforce to drive margin expansion,.INSTITUTIONAL FLOWS STABILIZE AS RETAIL PLATFORMS TARGET MASS ADOPTION:Despite recent price turbulence, institutional exit velocity appears to be slowing., weekly global crypto ETP outflows moderated to $187M, a significant drop from the $1.7B weekly pace seen previously. While bitcoin saw net withdrawals, etherand rippleattracted renewed interest, with XRP leading inflows at $63.1M. This institutional stabilization coincides with a massive retail push; Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek spent a record $70M to acquire the ai.com domain to launch a decentralized network of AI agents,. Simultaneously, Coinbasereturned to the Big Game with a, following their intial 2022 superbowl ad. However, operational risks remain a concern,that South Korean exchange Bithumb is under investigation for a "fat-finger" error that mistakenly credited users with $40B in "ghost" bitcoin.ANALYSTS REITERATE RATINGS ON MINING AND INFRASTRUCTURE PIVOT:Financial institutions are closely watching the evolution of miners into data center infrastructure providers. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on three prominent bitcoin stocks, highlighting the "time to power" advantage for AI data center conversions. BTIG analysts reiterated Buy ratings on several firms, noting that HPC-focused stocks have significantly outperformed the market.The following ratings, price targets, and notes were highlighted at BTIG:Strategy: Recent acquisitions were funded by the sale of common stock.Riot Platforms: Buy rating and $28.00 price target reiterated by BTIG analyst Gregory Lewis.Cleanspark: Buy rating and $26.00 price target reiterated by BTIG analyst Gregory Lewis.Hut 8: Buy rating and $55.00 price target reiterated by BTIG analyst Gregory Lewis.Morgan Stanley analyst Stephen Byrd initiated research coverage on the following names:TeraWulf: Initiated with an Overweight ratingCipher Mining: Initiated with an Overweight ratingMARA Holdings: Initiated with an Underweight ratingPRICE ACTION:At the time of this writing, bitcoin is trading at $70,081.95, while ether is currently trading at $2,093.50,.