Bitcoin miners have started allying with AI firms as the cryptocurrency industry finds itself struggling to gain profit following the "Bitcoin halving" earlier this year, the Financial Times reported.
Texas-based Bitcoin miner Core Scientific has been reported to be "aggressively pursuing" partnerships with AI firms to lend their data centers to train new models.
This is made possible due to the hardware requirements needed to mine cryptocurrencies and train AI models: advanced graphics card units to process high amounts of data simultaneously.
And it is not Core Scientific alone. Several other crypto miners in Texas, North Carolina, and Georgia have reportedly struck similar deals with tech startups as the industry pivots further toward generative AI.
In some cases, the Bitcoin miners transition as AI firms themselves to save losses from the steeper crypto market competition.
Although most deals currently place around hundreds of millions of dollars, experts projected that the numbers could go up to billions as tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft continue to expand their AI development.
Why are Bitcoin Miners Leaning Towards AI More?
Following the bitcoin halving earlier this year, Bitcoin miners have been looking for alternative revenue sources as incentives for mining new crypto coins continue to dwindle.
This is not to mention the growing operation costs for electricity, hardware, and regulatory fees needed.
It did not help that many people have since left the Bitcoin business following its initial boom during the COVID-19 pandemic in search of the next big thing in the tech industry.
These result in many Bitcoin companies announcing bankruptcy less than five years after opening as potential partnerships dry up while regulatory rules become stricter.
Related Article : Bitcoin Could Hit $100,00 by Year-End 2024 - Crypto Execs
AI Firms-Bitcoin Miners Partnership Could Save a Lot of Energy
If there is one definitive positive outcome from these deals, it would likely be opening the path for crypto data centers to use energy more efficiently.
Energy consumption has been one of the people's biggest concerns regarding crypto mining due to its high electricity demand to operate its data centers, a problem slowly being solved and innovated by AI firms as they expand operations.
With the bigger attention on the AI industry, crypto miners would also be forced to comply more with regulations and avoid further controversies that have plagued the industry since its inception.
