Updated: August 19, 2024 7:55 AM EDT
Analysts at research and brokerage firm Bernstein noted that investors are showing significant interest in Bitcoin miners and are shifting their attention to the artificial intelligence and high-performance computing (HPC) data center markets.
“We are seeing significant investor interest in Bitcoin miners pursuing AI/HPC, and these same investors are questioning whether all miners should transition to AI,” Gautam Chhugani, Mahika Sapra and Sanskar Chindalia wrote in a note to clients on Monday.
This operational shift is known as the “Mullet” strategy, with AI data centers in front and Bitcoin mining behind. Monday’s report described the current mining landscape as being roughly evenly divided between miners focused on Bitcoin mining and those shifting to AI data centers.
Since ASIC mining machines are not well-suited for AI training tasks, this strategy may require miners to deploy dedicated AI machines utilizing GPUs in their facilities.
Challenges of Shifting Focus to AI Data Center Markets
However, the Bernstein report identifies specific challenges for miners who are shifting their operations to focus on the AI data center market. While Bitcoin mining and AI data centers are similar in terms of power capacity and high-density power specifications, Bernstein emphasizes that they have completely different business models.
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According to the report, major Bitcoin miners should focus on gaining market share in Bitcoin mining, growing their hashrate faster than the overall hashrate, and not selling Bitcoin at a loss.
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