{"id":95259,"date":"2026-03-16T13:25:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T10:25:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=95259"},"modified":"2026-03-16T13:31:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T10:31:10","slug":"trader-predicts-bitcoins-death-as-miners-pivot-to-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/trader-predicts-bitcoins-death-as-miners-pivot-to-ai\/","title":{"rendered":"Trader predicts Bitcoin\u2019s &#8216;death&#8217; as miners pivot to AI"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>AI hosting brings Bitcoin miners nearly eight times the revenue of mining. Trader Ran Neuner said such a disparity is \u201ckilling\u201d the Bitcoin network.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">AI has killed Bitcoin forever.<\/p>\n<p>It became Bitcoin mining\u2019s biggest competitor.<\/p>\n<p>Not another crypto.<\/p>\n<p>AI.<\/p>\n<p>Because both industries compete for the same thing:<br \/>electricity.<\/p>\n<p>And right now, AI is willing to pay much more for it.<\/p>\n<p>Bitcoin mining revenue per MW:<br \/>$57 \u2013 $129<\/p>\n<p>AI data\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/gN23lvRSl2\">pic.twitter.com\/gN23lvRSl2<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ran Neuner (@cryptomanran) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/cryptomanran\/status\/2033161262058889251?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 15, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>He argued that both industries compete for the same power capacity, yet AI companies are prepared to pay more. Revenue for digital-gold miners is $57-129 per megawatt, while data centres for neural networks yield $200-500 for the same load.<\/p>\n<p>As evidence of the trend, Neuner cited several corporate examples:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Core Scientific <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/core-scientific-secures-500-million-from-morgan-stanley-for-ai-transition\">received a loan<\/a> of $500m from Morgan Stanley to build AI data centres;<\/li>\n<li>MARA Holdings <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/mara-miner-reports-1-7-billion-loss-and-announces-shift-to-ai\">notified<\/a> the SEC of its intention to sell part of its bitcoin reserves to pivot to AI;<\/li>\n<li>Hut 8 signed a $7bn agreement with Google to build AI infrastructure;<\/li>\n<li>Cipher Mining reduced its <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/what-are-hashrate-and-mining-difficulty-in-cryptocurrencies\">hashrate<\/a> to service neural networks;<\/li>\n<li>Bitmain co-founder Jihan Wu has left mining entirely for AI.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cIf I were a miner, the choice would be obvious. That is why more participants are leaving the network,\u201d the expert said.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>He also pointed to a fall in hashrate \u2014 the metric is down 14.5% from its October peak. The exit of miners raises the risk of a <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/what-is-a-51-attack\">51% attack<\/a>, Neuner believes. Previously such episodes were smoothed by difficulty recalculation, but today the shortage of energy worsens the situation.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"633\" src=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-2f290c1911f89500-8872917906850887-1024x633.png\" alt=\"image\" class=\"wp-image-276806\" srcset=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-2f290c1911f89500-8872917906850887-1024x633.png 1024w, https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-2f290c1911f89500-8872917906850887-300x185.png 300w, https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-2f290c1911f89500-8872917906850887-768x475.png 768w, https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-2f290c1911f89500-8872917906850887-1536x950.png 1536w, https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-2f290c1911f89500-8872917906850887.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bitcoin hashrate. Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/data.hashrateindex.com\/network-data\/network\">Hashrate Index<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In his view, digital gold can compete with AI only on one condition \u2014 if its price rises.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cI hope Bitcoin prints one green candle. Maybe because of war, maybe because of regulation,\u201d he concluded.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Counterarguments<\/h2>\n<p>Crypto pioneer and Blockstream CEO <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/who-is-adam-back-and-how-is-he-linked-to-bitcoins-creation\">Adam Back<\/a> disagreed with Neuner\u2019s conclusions. He said that mining difficulty will adjust and will push out only the least efficient players.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">What happens to Bitcoin is simple: tick tock, next block! Difficult adjusts downwards, least efficient and AI switchers move out and Bitcoin mining profitability converges to AI profitability. QED.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Adam Back (@adam3us) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/adam3us\/status\/2033278188059537602?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 15, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cTick tock, next block! Difficulty falls, those who switched to AI leave, and mining profitability converges with AI profitability,\u201d he wrote.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Analyst Willy Woo took a similar view. He <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/willywoo\/status\/2033387460403818878\">stressed<\/a> that in this context the price of electricity is not decisive \u2014 it affects only competition among Bitcoin miners.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cHow much the Bitcoin network is willing to pay for its security is determined by the price of BTC and the use of the blockchain. [\u2026] Study Bitcoin\u2019s difficulty adjustment mechanism \u2014 it is a fundamental cornerstone for understanding BTC,\u201d the expert said.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Investor Fred Krueger <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/dotkrueger\/status\/2033192235093897473\">explained<\/a> that when AI offers better economics, miners will switch off until network difficulty falls and mining returns to profitability. This is Bitcoin\u2019s normal operating cycle, he noted.<\/p>\n<p>ESG specialist Daniel Batten also argued that AI\u2019s expansion depends on digital gold. Miners, he said, can harness underused energy, balance power systems and run legacy equipment on cheap electricity.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Nonsense<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s the other way around: the evidence tells us that AI is dependent upon Bitcoin for its expansion<\/p>\n<p>For example, bitcoin mining can be used alongside AI for strategic advantages including<br \/>\u2014 monetizing energy during AI datacenter construction <br \/>\u2014 using forward-purchased\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Daniel Batten (@DSBatten) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DSBatten\/status\/2033299422012907805?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 15, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>In March, Wintermute analysts <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/wintermute-declares-traditional-bitcoin-mining-model-obsolete\">said<\/a> the traditional mining model is no longer relevant. They argue that to survive, Bitcoin miners will either have to switch to AI hosting or learn to manage their bitcoin reserves as working capital.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AI hosting brings Bitcoin miners nearly eight times more revenue than mining. Trader Ran Neuner says the gap is \u201ckilling\u201d the network.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":95260,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"1","news_style_id":"1","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"Ran Neuner says AI hosting\u2019s higher returns are \u201ckilling\u201d Bitcoin mining.","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[18,1137,1138],"class_list":["post-95259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-bitcoin","tag-cryptocurrency-mining","tag-opinions"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"160","promo_type":"1","layout_type":"1","short_excerpt":"Ran Neuner says AI hosting\u2019s higher returns are \u201ckilling\u201d Bitcoin mining.","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95259"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95259\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95261,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95259\/revisions\/95261"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}