{"id":76417,"date":"2026-03-16T11:31:35","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T11:31:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/?p=76417"},"modified":"2026-03-16T11:31:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T11:31:35","slug":"is-ai-killing-bitcoin-mining-heres-the-truth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/?p=76417","title":{"rendered":"Is AI Killing Bitcoin Mining? Here\u2019s The Truth"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A new fault line is opening in the Bitcoin mining debate as AI data centers emerge as a far richer buyer of electricity than traditional miners. But the argument over whether that dynamic threatens Bitcoin\u2019s long-term security is drawing a sharp pushback from market and energy specialists who say the headline claim misses how mining economics actually work.<\/p>\n

The flashpoint came from Crypto Banter co-founder Ran Neuner, who framed<\/a> the issue in stark terms. \u201cAI has killed Bitcoin forever. It became Bitcoin mining\u2019s biggest competitor. Not another crypto. AI,\u201d he wrote on X, arguing that both sectors are chasing the same scarce input: power.<\/p>\n

Neuner\u2019s basic math is simple and provocative. He claimed BTC mining generates roughly $57 to $129 of revenue per megawatt, while AI data centers can make $200 to $500 per megawatt from that same electricity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why miners are starting to pivot,\u201d he wrote, pointing to Core Scientific\u2019s AI hosting deal, Hut 8\u2019s $7 billion AI infrastructure agreement, and Cipher Mining\u2019s decision to cut hashrate 51% to focus on AI compute. From there, he pushed the key question: if AI becomes the highest bidder for power, what happens to Bitcoin?<\/p>\n

That framing resonates because it captures something real: miners are no longer competing only with other miners. In certain markets, they are competing with hyperscale-style compute demand that may support a much higher revenue profile. For listed mining firms, especially those already sitting on power infrastructure, the temptation to repurpose capacity for AI is obvious.<\/p>\n

Why AI Won\u2019t Kill Bitcoin Mining<\/h2>\n

But on-chain analyst Willy Woo argued that Neuner\u2019s conclusion confuses miner competition with network-level economics. \u201cWhat the BTC network is willing to pay for its security is set the BTC price and network use,\u201d Woo wrote. \u201cThe price of electricity is irrelevant, that only impacts competition between miners. Study BTC\u2019s difficulty adjustment<\/a> \u2013 it\u2019s a fundamental cornerstone of understanding BTC.\u201d<\/p>\n

That is the core rebuttal. Bitcoin does not require every miner to remain profitable at every electricity price. It adjusts. If higher-cost operators drop off because AI outbids them for power, mining difficulty can fall, allowing the remaining miners to continue operating under a new equilibrium. In Woo\u2019s reading, AI may reshuffle who mines and where, but it does not automatically \u201ckill\u201d Bitcoin unless it permanently breaks the relationship between price, usage, and the network\u2019s security budget<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Climate-focused venture capitalist Daniel Batten pushed back even harder, calling the thesis \u201cNonsense\u201d and arguing that the relationship may increasingly run in the other direction. \u201cIt\u2019s the other way around: the evidence tells us that AI is dependent upon Bitcoin for its expansion,\u201d he wrote. \u201cFor example, bitcoin mining can be used alongside AI for strategic advantages including monetizing energy during AI<\/a> datacenter construction, using forward-purchased energy that would otherwise be wasted, [and] smoothing demand patterns of AI load.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Be very skeptical of any claims such as \u201cBitcoin mining is unprofitable beyond this threshold\u201d or \u201cAI is killing Bitcoin\u201d.<\/p>\n

Not only is it more nuanced than that, but the research tells us that AI datacenters increasingly need Bitcoin mining (see 7. below)<\/p>\n

For example
\n1. In\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/G5UvbTUmCc<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Daniel Batten (@DSBatten) March 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Batten\u2019s broader point is that blanket claims about mining profitability flatten a business with highly variable inputs and revenue streams. He argued that miners in high-cost regions can still operate because heat recycling may be the primary revenue source and BTC the byproduct. Others increasingly own generation assets, mine on intermittent power, or tap stranded energy from oil, gas, and landfills at roughly 1 cent per kilowatt-hour in exchange for higher upfront capex. Demand response programs, FCAS, RECs, and carbon credits can further change the economics.<\/p>\n

He also stressed that negative power prices during renewable surpluses create openings that generalized \u201cAI beats mining\u201d comparisons fail to capture. \u201cBe very skeptical of any claims such as \u2018Bitcoin mining is unprofitable beyond this threshold\u2019 or \u2018AI is killing Bitcoin\u2019,\u201d Batten wrote. \u201cNot only is it more nuanced than that, but the research tells us that AI datacenters increasingly need Bitcoin mining.\u201d<\/p>\n

At press time, BTC traded at $73,329.<\/p>\n

\"Bitcoin<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new fault line is opening in the Bitcoin mining debate as AI data centers emerge as a far richer buyer of electricity than traditional miners. But the argument over whether that dynamic threatens Bitcoin\u2019s long-term security is drawing a sharp pushback from market and energy specialists who say the headline claim misses how mining […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3,4,5],"class_list":["post-76417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-crypto","tag-doge","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=76417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76417\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=76417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=76417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=76417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}