VanEck Says Bitcoin Miners Hold an AI Gold Mine

Bitcoin miners may be best known for securing the world’s largest cryptocurrency network, but VanEck argues they now control something even more strategically valuable: power. As artificial intelligence demand accelerates across the US, the asset manager says many miners are “sitting on a gold mine” of energy infrastructure that can be redirected toward high-performance computing and AI data centers. The shift is drawing fresh attention from investors, miners, and technology companies as the economics of Bitcoin mining become more challenging and the race for AI capacity intensifies.

Why Bitcoin Miners Are Suddenly in Demand

The core of VanEck’s argument is simple. Bitcoin miners have spent years acquiring access to large amounts of electricity, building data-center-like facilities, and learning how to operate energy-intensive computing infrastructure at scale. Those same capabilities are increasingly valuable to AI companies that need power, cooling, and land to run graphics processing units, or GPUs, for model training and inference.

In a February 2024 report on crypto and AI revenue opportunities, VanEck said the most compelling value proposition miners can offer is lower-cost energy infrastructure for AI backend systems. The firm noted that large technology companies often pay about $0.06 to $0.10 per kilowatt-hour for power, while competitive Bitcoin miners generally pay around $0.03 to $0.05 per kilowatt-hour. That cost gap matters as AI workloads become more power-hungry.

VanEck also highlighted an early sign of the revenue difference. It cited HIVE’s disclosure that its HPC and AI operations were generating 15 times more revenue than Bitcoin mining on a per-megawatt basis. That comparison has helped shape the market narrative that miners with flexible power assets may be able to unlock higher-margin businesses beyond crypto alone.

VanEck Says Bitcoin Miners Are ‘Sitting on a Gold Mine’ as AI Demand Surges

VanEck’s more recent research expands that thesis with hard numbers. In its Mid-February 2025 Bitcoin ChainCheck, the firm said it mapped 13 public Bitcoin miners and estimated they collectively operated 7.1 gigawatts of energized capacity. VanEck projected that figure could rise to 11.7 gigawatts by the end of 2025, 15.9 gigawatts by 2026, and 20.4 gigawatts by 2027.

The firm argued that miners are unlikely to devote all of that future capacity to Bitcoin. According to VanEck, AI currently consumes about 7.7 gigawatts of global data-center power usage, or 14%, and that could grow to roughly 22.7 gigawatts, or 27%, by 2027. Based on its review of site pipelines, VanEck said the miners it covers could pivot at least 20% to 30% of their electrical capacity toward AI and HPC workloads.

That is the basis for the “gold mine” framing. In this view, the scarce asset is not just mining hardware or Bitcoin reserves. It is access to large, scalable, energizable sites in a market where AI developers are competing for every available megawatt. VanEck pointed to projects such as Iris Energy’s planned 75-megawatt liquid-cooled AI/HPC data center in Childress, Texas, and its broader Sweetwater expansion, which could bring total site capacity to 2 gigawatts.

The assets AI companies want most

For AI developers and cloud providers, the most attractive miner-owned assets typically include:

• Low-cost power contracts
• Large land parcels with room for expansion
• Existing cooling and data-center operations expertise
• Faster time to market than greenfield development
• Optionality to switch between mining and AI/HPC uses

These advantages help explain why miners are increasingly being evaluated not just as crypto businesses, but as infrastructure companies with exposure to one of the fastest-growing segments in technology.

Why the Bitcoin Mining Model Is Under Pressure

The AI pivot is not happening in a vacuum. It is also a response to the tougher economics of Bitcoin mining itself. VanEck said the pivot toward AI and HPC is becoming more important because Bitcoin’s fee revenue remains unreliable, while the network’s block subsidy halves every four years. In practical terms, that means Bitcoin’s price must rise significantly over time for miners to maintain revenue levels after each halving cycle.

VanEck’s February 2025 data showed average Bitcoin transaction fees at $1.40, down 23% month over month, while total daily BTC miner revenues stood at about $44.4 million. At the same time, mining difficulty and global power consumption remained elevated, underscoring how competitive the industry has become.

By January 2026, VanEck said the trend had become even clearer. The firm reported that mining difficulty had fallen 2% over 30 days and the 30-day average hash rate was down 6% from its mid-November 2025 peak. According to VanEck, part of that decline reflected miners powering down rigs to serve “exploding demand” for AI data centers.

According to Ben Gagnon, chief executive of Bitfarms, the appeal of HPC is straightforward: it creates more value per unit of energy and does so with greater predictability over multiple years. VanEck cited that view as evidence that miners are increasingly comparing Bitcoin mining returns against longer-duration AI infrastructure contracts.

Which Miners Are Moving First

VanEck’s February 2025 research identified several public miners that were already exploring or expanding AI and HPC strategies. The list included Bitfarms, Bitdeer, Cipher Mining, Riot Platforms, HIVE Digital Technologies, and Iris Energy. Their approaches vary, but the common thread is an effort to monetize power access more efficiently.

Some are hiring consultants to assess AI/HPC conversion opportunities across North American sites. Others are adding executives with data-center or AI experience, raising capital for HPC expansion, or building liquid-cooled facilities designed for denser compute workloads. These moves suggest the sector is no longer treating AI as a side experiment. For a growing number of miners, it is becoming a core strategic option.

Still, the transition is not guaranteed to succeed. VanEck warned in its 2024 report that miners may face obstacles including limited experience in data-center construction, the need for new sales capabilities, and inadequate fiber connectivity at remote sites originally chosen for cheap electricity rather than low-latency networking.

Risks investors should watch

The opportunity is significant, but so are the execution risks. Key issues include:

1. Capital intensity: Retrofitting or building AI-ready facilities can require large upfront spending.
2. Connectivity constraints: Cheap-power sites may lack the fiber infrastructure AI customers need.
3. Operational complexity: Running GPU clusters differs from operating ASIC-based mining fleets.
4. Customer concentration: A few large AI tenants can create revenue dependence.
5. Market cycles: AI demand is strong now, but contract pricing and utilization can change.

What It Means for Investors and the US Market

For US investors, the VanEck thesis reframes Bitcoin miners as a hybrid infrastructure trade tied to both digital assets and AI. That matters because valuation models may change if markets begin assigning higher multiples to contracted AI/HPC revenue than to pure mining income. It also helps explain why companies with large power portfolios, especially in Texas and other energy-rich regions, are attracting outsized attention.

The broader US significance is also clear. AI expansion is colliding with real-world constraints in power generation, transmission, and data-center development. Miners that already control energizable sites may offer one of the fastest ways to add computing capacity without waiting years for entirely new campuses to be built. That does not mean every miner becomes an AI winner, but it does mean the sector’s assets are being reassessed in a more strategic light.

VanEck’s conclusion is not that Bitcoin mining disappears. Rather, it suggests the strongest operators may use mining as a flexible base business while selectively redirecting power toward higher-margin AI and HPC opportunities. In that scenario, miners are not abandoning crypto. They are monetizing the infrastructure they built for crypto in a market that suddenly values power access more than ever.

Conclusion

VanEck says Bitcoin miners are “sitting on a gold mine” because AI demand is turning power access into one of the most valuable assets in digital infrastructure. With 7.1 gigawatts of energized capacity across the public miners it tracks and a much larger expansion pipeline ahead, VanEck sees a meaningful share of that capacity shifting toward AI and HPC over the next several years.

The opportunity is real, but it is not automatic. Miners still need capital, connectivity, customers, and operational expertise to convert energy assets into durable AI revenue. Even so, as Bitcoin mining margins tighten and AI power demand rises, the sector’s strategic importance is becoming harder to ignore. For investors, the next chapter in Bitcoin mining may be defined as much by electricity and data centers as by Bitcoin itself.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does VanEck mean by saying Bitcoin miners are “sitting on a gold mine”?
VanEck is referring to miners’ access to valuable power infrastructure, land, and operating expertise that can be repurposed for AI and high-performance computing data centers.

Why are AI companies interested in Bitcoin miners?
Many miners already control large energy sites and run compute-heavy facilities. That can help AI companies secure power and deploy capacity faster than starting from scratch.

How much power capacity do public Bitcoin miners control, according to VanEck?
VanEck estimated in February 2025 that 13 public miners in its coverage collectively operated 7.1 gigawatts of energized capacity, with plans to expand significantly through 2027.

How much of miners’ capacity could shift to AI and HPC?
VanEck said the miners it covers could pivot at least 20% to 30% of their electrical capacity toward AI and HPC workloads.

Why is the shift happening now?
The move is being driven by two forces at once: rising AI demand for power and compute, and tougher Bitcoin mining economics after the halving and amid uneven fee revenue.

Does this mean Bitcoin mining is no longer important?
No. VanEck’s view suggests mining remains important, but the most successful companies may increasingly combine mining with AI/HPC infrastructure strategies to diversify revenue and improve returns.