A multi-billion-dollar debt deal shows how the AI boom is forcing a strategic overhaul of the crypto mining industry, with major players turning away from Bitcoin to secure more stable revenue.
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Core Scientific to raise $3.3B for AI pivot as miners chase revenue
A multi-billion-dollar debt deal shows how the AI boom is forcing a strategic overhaul of the crypto mining industry, with major players turning away from Bitcoin to secure more stable revenue.
Core Scientific Inc. announced plans Tuesday to raise $3.3 billion in a junk-bond sale to fund its expanding pivot into artificial intelligence infrastructure, a move that underscores a widening trend among crypto miners grappling with tightening margins.
The financing will come through senior secured notes due in 2031, with proceeds intended to fund data center construction and refinance existing debt, the company said. “We are deploying this capital to accelerate service timelines associated with our projects,” Core Scientific CEO Adam Sullivan said, signaling the company’s aggressive push beyond its traditional Bitcoin operations.
The offering follows a separate $1 billion credit facility from Morgan Stanley and will support the buildout of six data center facilities fully leased to cloud-computing firm CoreWeave Inc. under a 12-year contract that could generate about $10 billion in revenue, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. To finance the transition, Core Scientific has been liquidating its Bitcoin holdings, selling 1,900 BTC for $175 million in January and now holding under 1,000 BTC, down from 2,537 at the end of 2025. The company’s shares (CORZ) have surged 42 percent this year as investors reward the strategic shift.
This pivot reflects an existential crisis for the mining industry. The April 2024 Bitcoin halving cut mining rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC, while the average cash cost to produce one Bitcoin climbed to nearly $80,000 for public miners in late 2025, according to a CoinShares report. With mining profitability at cyclical lows, companies are leveraging their most valuable assets—powered data centers and grid connections—to serve the booming AI market, which offers more predictable, high-margin revenue streams.
Miners Follow the Money to AI
Core Scientific is not alone. A growing number of publicly traded Bitcoin miners, including Riot Platforms, MARA Holdings, and Hut 8, are repurposing their infrastructure for AI and high-performance computing (HPC). These companies are finding that their expertise in building and operating large-scale, energy-intensive facilities is directly applicable to the needs of AI firms, which are desperate for data center capacity.
The economics are compelling. While electricity can consume over 40 percent of revenue in Bitcoin mining, it accounts for a low-single-digit percentage of costs for AI cloud services. This has led to a surge in financing for data center conversions, with borrowers linked to AI infrastructure raising $17.9 billion in high-yield bonds this year alone, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
A Question of Network Security
The migration of capital and infrastructure away from Bitcoin has ignited a debate over the network’s long-term security. The Bitcoin network is secured by miners dedicating vast computational power to validate transactions. As major industrial miners redirect their resources to AI, some analysts worry that the network’s security backbone could weaken.
“The energy and commitment to Bitcoin is under significant threat,” said Charles Edwards, founder of Capriole Investments, noting that Bitcoin revenue share among top miners is projected to fall dramatically.
However, others argue the network’s design will ensure its stability. Bitcoin’s difficulty adjustment automatically lowers the computational power required to mine a block when hashrate falls, making it more profitable for remaining miners. “It’s an arbitrage, with equilibrium when mining margin is the same as AI workloads,” said Adam Back, CEO of Blockstream. This self-correcting mechanism, proponents say, ensures the network remains secure and decentralized, even as its largest players diversify.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
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