Bitcoin mining shifts toward AI infrastructure and HPC workloads

CoreWeave enters advanced negotiations to acquire Core Scientific. This all-stock deal values the transaction at approximately $9 billion on a fully diluted basis. Core Scientific shareholders receive 0.1235 newly issued shares of CoreWeave Class A common stock for every share they hold. This acquisition follows a rejected $1 billion bid from last year. Core Scientific can divert 500 MW of its 1.2 GW of contracted power for alternative computation needs. The company also has a 12-year contract to supply hundreds of megawatts of data center capacity to support CoreWeave’s AI operations. Core Scientific will retrofit a 100 MW facility to host CoreWeave’s Nvidia GPU operations. Core Scientific’s stock climbed 27% to $15.67 on the news. CoreWeave specializes in cloud infrastructure for artificial intelligence. It has $1.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents from the end of the first quarter. It also announced a $2 billion debt offering. Core Scientific specializes in high-powered data centers for Bitcoin mining and AI hosting. The current market cap for Core Scientific is roughly $3.7 billion. The acquisition matches the roadmap for AI and high-performance computing workload deployment at scale. Ownership of the data center platform allows CoreWeave to deliver more efficient services to customers in the AI space. Adam Sullivan, the President and CEO of Core Scientific, noted that CoreWeave knows the quality of their infrastructure. The deal will eliminate over $10 billion in lease obligations for Core Scientific’s existing data center contracts that span the next 12 years. Some major Core Scientific shareholders plan to vote against the deal unless terms change because they think the deal leaves them short-changed.

The Bitcoin network difficulty hits 140.58T

The Bitcoin network difficulty hits 140.58T on October 26, 2026. Miners expect the difficulty to rise by roughly 6.1% at block 973,728 around October 29. This follows a 5.92% increase that occurred on October 16. The total network hashrate remains above 1 Zettahash, and the 7-day average of 1,084 EH/s indicates that miners continue to add significant capacity to the network despite the rising difficulty and the constant pressure of higher costs. A rising difficulty means each machine finds fewer coins. One PH/s of mining power earns about $34 a day after the expected adjustment if the Bitcoin price stays at $80,382. The Bitcoin price traded near $80,400 on October 26. The network completed its latest difficulty retarget at block height 965,664, which was a 1.31% increase to 127.45T. This change is the eighth upward adjustment of 2026 and shows the protocol’s automatic balancing mechanism that targets consistent 10-minute block intervals. Miners averaged slightly faster block production in the prior epoch, which prompted the upward correction. Hashprice climbed over 22% in recent weeks to approximately $39.63 per PH/s per day. On October 26, the hashprice is approximately $36. After the October 29 adjustment, hashprice is expected to be about $33.87.

Large mining firms shift to AI

Large mining firms shift their focus from Bitcoin to AI. IREN plans to exit the Bitcoin mining market by December 31, 2026, and it will release 23.2 EH/s of share. Bitfarms and TeraWulf are winding down their remaining Bitcoin capacity to focus on HPC. Hut 8 signed a 15-year, 245-megawatt AI data center lease at its River Bend campus with a contract value of $7 billion. This shift changes the network security. Core Scientific draws 83% of its revenue from colocation, and TeraWulf draws 71% of its revenue from HPC leases. AI workloads generate between $0.25 and $0.35 per kWh. Bitcoin mining earns between $0.07 and $0.09 for the same energy. Will the network security budget hold if the hashrate continues to migrate toward AI? The transfer of 75 EH/s of hardware worth $1.5 billion to AI tenants means the capacity once used for Bitcoin is now permanently allocated to high-performance computing workloads. IREN is expected to release 23.2 EH/s of share. Cipher is likely to exit the market by the end of 2027 with 11.6 EH/s at Odessa. Hyperscale Data handed its 20 MW Michigan site to an AI client on September 1. In the first half of 2026, public miners moved 75 EH/s off the Bitcoin network, which totaled $1.5 billion in hardware valued at $20 per TH. The transition is attractive for many operators because AI workloads generate higher margins.

Profitability depends on machine efficiency

Profitability depends on the efficiency of the ASIC machines. I find the shift to AI infrastructure provides the most stable path for surviving this difficulty cycle. Modern machines like the Antminer S23 Hyd maintain margin at low electricity costs. A single Antminer S23 Hyd uses about 5,510 watts. At current difficulty, it brings in about $20.85 a day. Because the difficulty is set to rise by 6.1% on October 29, a miner using an Antminer S23 Hyd with a 5.2 cent power cost will see their daily profit drop to $19.65 if the Bitcoin price remains at $80,382. At a power price of 5.2 cents per kWh, the machine keeps $12.77 a day. At a 13 cent home tariff, it keeps $2.45 a day. An Antminer S21 XP+ Hyd with 500 TH/s of hashpower has a break-even price of 12.8 cents per kWh. An Antminer S21 Pro with 245 TH/s of hashpower has a break-even price of 9.4 cents per kWh. An Antminer S19 XP with 141 TH/s of hashpower has a break-even price of 6.6 cents per kWh. An Antminer S23 318T (air) has a break-even price of 12.8 cents per kWh. You should monitor the hashrate closely.