Bitcoin News
By Evie Vavasseur
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Artificial intelligence companies are finding a new way to extract value from their operations—by mining Bitcoin using idle electricity from their data centers.
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Mara Holdings, based in Florida, recently began using unused power from its AI data centers to mine Bitcoin.
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Riot Platforms has taken a similar approach, investing $1 billion into energy infrastructure meant for both Bitcoin mining and AI operations.
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Running AI models like OpenAI’s GPT-4 requires enormous computing power and, consequently, vast amounts of electricity.
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Daniel Batten, a climate tech investor and expert on Bitcoin’s energy impact, believes this is a turning point.
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Batten points out that Bitcoin miners can act as real-time energy consumers. Unlike most industrial processes, Bitcoin mining can be turned on or off in seconds.
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Artificial intelligence companies spend millions on electricity to train large models. These models, such as those used in natural language processing or image recognition,…
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Mining Bitcoin with this surplus energy provides a valuable hedge. It creates an additional revenue stream while allowing companies to remain responsive to grid needs.
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This method not only captures unused energy but also contributes to grid reliability. When AI data centers don’t use their full power allocation, miners can immediately take over.
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The collaboration between AI and Bitcoin is more than just an energy-efficiency play—it’s helping to stabilize increasingly stressed electricity grids.
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Bitcoin mining helps absorb this volatility. According to Batten, “There is no modular, scalable, interruptible, load balancing technology that exists in the world today better…
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Brian Morgenstern, head of public policy at Riot Platforms, emphasized this point at a recent energy conference.
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This convergence also supports broader environmental goals. As power grids transition to greener energy, balancing load and demand becomes increasingly important.
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The synergy helps make renewable energy integration more viable. According to Batten, “It’s going to be good for grid stability, and it’s going to be good for the AI data centers…
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Mara’s model, if scalable, could become a blueprint for AI firms with forward-purchased power contracts. Batten believes it is.
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