Bitcoin Miners Emerge as Unlikely Power Brokers in AI Infrastructure Race, Says Bernstein
Google and Blackstone plan to launch a joint AI cloud venture, with Blackstone investing $5 billion and taking a majority stake, based on custom chip technology from Google. This move highlights a major constraint in AI infrastructure: access to electricity, not just capital or chips. Bitcoin mining companies, which collectively control over 27 gigawatts of planned power capacity in the U.S., are emerging as critical players because securing new grid power for data centers is slow and difficult. To capitalize, bitcoin miners are repositioning as AI infrastructure providers, signing more than $90 billion in AI-related contracts covering 3.7 gigawatts of capacity. Deals are being struck both with large hyperscale cloud companies and independent “neocloud” providers. Major miners like IREN, Riot Platforms, Core Scientific, and HUT 8 have landed contracts with top tech firms, while Bernstein rates several of these miners as outperforming investments. Miners’ access to power places them in a strong strategic position as demand for AI data center capacity grows.
