Head of Major Miner Estimates AI Profitability Ten Times Higher Than Mining

cryptonews.ruPubblicato 2026-07-31Pubblicato ultima volta 2026-07-31

Introduzione

The CEO of Canadian mining company HIVE Digital Technologies, Frank Holmes, stated that the company is accelerating its development in artificial intelligence (AI) computing. HIVE, one of the world's largest public bitcoin miners controlling about 2% of the global hashrate, expects its revenue share from AI to grow from approximately 10% to over 50% this year. Holmes highlighted the significant difference in profitability, noting that ASIC miners generate around $0.12–0.14 per hour, while a single Nvidia H100 GPU can earn nearly $2 per hour. Even older GPUs yield about $1.4 per hour, roughly ten times the revenue from mining hardware. Major miners like Riot Platforms, Cipher Digital, MARA, and TeraWulf are mitigating losses by shifting from cryptocurrency mining to supporting AI computations in their data centers or combining both activities. For instance, MARA Holdings recently purchased a $600 million site for AI and mining data centers. The company's CEO had previously warned that without at least a 50% annual increase in Bitcoin's price, the current mining model would become unprofitable. With the estimated cost to mine one Bitcoin around $78,000 for summer 2026 and Bitcoin's price remaining below that level for months, some miners have begun shutting down equipment as rising costs and network difficulty squeeze margins.

In an interview, Frank Holmes, the head of Canadian mining company HIVE Digital Technologies, announced an acceleration in the development of its artificial intelligence computing business. HIVE is one of the largest public miners and controls about 2% of the global Bitcoin hashrate.

According to Holmes, the share of AI in the company's revenue is expected to grow from roughly 10% to over 50% this year.

He noted that currently, ASIC miners bring in about $0.12–0.14 per hour, whereas a single Nvidia H100 graphics processing unit can earn nearly $2 per hour. Even older GPUs generate about $1.4 per hour, which is approximately ten times more than what mining equipment yields.

Many large miners, such as Riot Platforms, Cipher Digital, MARA, and TeraWulf, are minimizing losses by shifting from cryptocurrency mining to supporting AI computations in their data centers or combining these activities.

In early July, MARA Holdings, the largest miner in the U.S., purchased a data center site for AI and mining for $600 million. Back in November of last year, MARA CEO Fred Thiel stated that without Bitcoin's price increasing by at least 50% annually, the current mining model would become unprofitable.

The exact cost to mine one Bitcoin cannot be calculated precisely, but generally, according to various estimation models, it is around $78,000 for the summer of 2026. Bitcoin's price has remained below this level for several months, and some miners have begun switching off equipment as complexity increases due to rising costs.

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Domande pertinenti

QWhat does the CEO of HIVE Digital Technologies estimate about the profitability of AI computation compared to cryptocurrency mining?

AThe CEO estimates that a single Nvidia H100 GPU can bring in nearly $2 per hour, while even older GPUs generate about $1.4 per hour. In contrast, ASIC-miners bring in only about $0.12–0.14 per hour. Therefore, GPU-based AI computation is about ten times more profitable than current mining equipment.

QWhat significant shift in revenue composition does HIVE Digital Technologies anticipate for this year?

AHIVE anticipates that the share of AI in the company's revenue will grow from approximately 10% to over 50% this year.

QWhat are other major mining companies like Riot Platforms and TeraWulf doing in response to mining challenges?

AOther major mining companies are minimizing losses by switching from cryptocurrency mining to supporting AI computations in their data centers, or by combining both activities.

QWhat did the CEO of MARA Holdings say about the sustainability of the current Bitcoin mining model?

AThe CEO of MARA Holdings stated that without Bitcoin's price increasing by at least 50% per year, the current mining model would become unprofitable.

QWhat is a key factor causing some miners to turn off their equipment currently?

AA key factor is that the price of Bitcoin has been below the estimated production cost (around $78k for summer 2026) for several months. When mining difficulty increases, leading to higher costs, it becomes unprofitable for some miners to operate, prompting them to shut down equipment.

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