Bitcoin mining companies that have shifted into artificial intelligence and high-performance computing are being awarded higher valuations and steadier revenue expectations as lower bitcoin prices and weaker mining returns keep pressure on the sector, according to BlockBeats on Aug. 18.
Over the past year, TerraWulf (WULF), IREN and Cipher Digital (CIFR) each saw their share prices rise by more than 100%. MARA Holdings (MARA), which moved into AI later than those peers, fell about 40% over the same period.
Mining economics have weakened sharply. Bitcoin hashprice has dropped from about $63 per PH/s in July last year to around $31.8 per PH/s. That decline has led a growing number of miners to shut down machines, and Bitcoin network hashrate has also fallen from 1.14 ZH/s to about 900 EH/s, a decrease of roughly 21%.
Data from CoinShares shows that, as of the first quarter of 2026, mining companies with AI/HPC contracts were trading at an average enterprise value multiple of about 12.3x, compared with 5.9x for pure bitcoin miners. Across the industry, cumulative AI/HPC contracts signed during the same period had reached about $70 billion.
The pivot is still picking up speed. Riot Platforms signed a 20-year lease agreement with Anthropic last week, with the contract valued at about $9.1 billion.
In the market's view, the truly scarce assets held by miners are not bitcoin itself, but low-cost power, data center infrastructure and the ability to operate computing capacity at scale. Those resources can be redirected toward fast-growing computing businesses such as AI.
Pure bitcoin mining, however, still has room for a rebound. CoinShares estimated that if bitcoin returns to its record high of about $126,000 from last October, hashprice could recover to around $59 per PH/s, which would materially improve miner profitability.