Public Bitcoin miners are accelerating their transformation into AI infrastructure enterprises, but the implementation of this strategy requires substantial capital as support. According to an analysis in the “Miner Weekly” published by Blocksbridge Consulting, the industry faces a funding gap of approximately 50 billion US dollars in the short term. The report cites data from VanEck, pointing out that converting existing mining facility power infrastructure into data centers that meet AI operational standards requires infrastructure requirements far exceeding those of traditional mining operations, causing capital expenditure levels to rise sharply. Bitcoin mining sites typically can operate with simple buildings and ASIC miners that can tolerate rapid power curtailment, whereas AI facilities have extremely stringent standards for operational stability, cooling systems, power redundancy, and network connectivity.
This transformation trend coincides with a historic correction in Bitcoin network mining difficulty. Due to the shutdown of approximately 100 EH/s of hashrate, mining difficulty plunged 10.09% to 124.93 trillion on June 14. The report points out that as more miners redirect energy resources toward AI construction, this structural change may reshape the future trajectory of mining difficulty evolution. Among the public miners dedicated to AI infrastructure, IREN (IREN) faces the most severe funding gap, requiring approximately 21.1 billion US dollars; Riot Platforms (RIOT) and HIVE Digital (HIVE) face gaps of 7.2 billion and 4.6 billion US dollars, respectively.
Since the Bitcoin halving in 2024, industry profitability has continued to face pressure. The hash price has fallen sharply from its October high last year, and “The Energy Mag” described the fourth quarter of last year as the “most severe profitability environment” for miners. Entering the new year, Coin Shares estimates that the hash price has dropped to approximately 28 US dollars per petahash per second, with as many as 20% of miners operating at a loss. Against this backdrop, shifting toward the higher-margin AI business has become a key strategy for public miners to break the deadlock. At the same time, AI industry expansion shows no signs of abating, and industry leader Nvidia (NVDA) plans to issue 20 billion US dollars in bonds to support AI investment, further confirming the macro trend of computing resources tilting toward AI.
Bitcoin’s price has continued to weaken recently, falling 3.4% at one point during Thursday trading to around 62,184 US dollars, with cumulative declines approaching 50% since its all-time high in October 2024. Market analysis suggests that this decline is influenced both by expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes and by pressure on the financing model of Strategy (MSTR), the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder.
Market attention is focused on the preferred stock product STRC, which Strategy uses to finance Bitcoin purchases. This product is issued at a face value of 100 US dollars, with proceeds used to increase Bitcoin holdings, and investors receive annual dividend returns. However, since the ex-dividend date on May 15, STRC’s price has consistently traded below face value, and on Thursday it briefly fell below 83 US dollars, hitting a new all-time low since listing. As the stock trades at a discount, the company’s effective financing costs continue to rise. FalconX executive Joshua Lim stated that the market is testing, through STRC’s price, whether the company will persist in buying Bitcoin or choose to sell its holdings to replenish cash and maintain dividend payments. Earlier this month, Strategy founder Saylor slightly reduced his Bitcoin holdings, further intensifying market concerns.
In addition, Federal Reserve Chairman Warsh has sent hawkish signals, and rising expectations of interest rate hikes have put overall pressure on risk assets. QCP Capital pointed out that the market is concerned that Strategy may need to sell more Bitcoin in the future to pay dividends. Arca Chief Investment Officer Jeff Dorman believes that the company must either sell assets to support STRC’s price, or otherwise the uncertainty surrounding its capital structure will continue to trouble the market. Dragged down by related concerns, Strategy’s stock fell 3.46% on Thursday, with a cumulative decline of approximately 14% this week and nearly 70% over the past year. Under multiple pressures, Bitcoin’s short-term outlook remains unfavorable, with market focus centered on Strategy’s subsequent moves and whether the psychological support level of 60,000 US dollars can hold.
