Bitcoin price recovery unlikely to lure AI-focused miners back, CoinShares says

According to CoinShares' Q2 bitcoin mining report, publicly traded Bitcoin miners that have pivoted to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure are unlikely to return to crypto mining, even if Bitcoin prices experience a sustained recovery. The report highlights stark economic disparities, estimating that AI infrastructure generates approximately $1.5 million in profit per megawatt compared to only $500,000 per megawatt from Bitcoin mining. During the second quarter, listed miners faced severe margin pressure, producing Bitcoin at an average ex-tax cash cost of roughly $75,500 while BTC ended the quarter at $58,400. The monthly average hash price sank to a record low of $27.70 per PH/s per day in June. Although Bitcoin's rebound toward $77,000 lifted hash price to around $38 per PH/s per day and restored operational cash breakeven, long-term HPC lease commitments of 15-plus years make reversing the pivot unfeasible for many operators. As a result, at least 35 EH/s of hash power—roughly 4.7% of Bitcoin's total network hashrate of 750 EH/s—is slated to leave listed mining operations as companies repurpose power and facilities.