Anthropic · Bitcoin · BBC Technology
AI gold rush draws crypto firms away from Bitcoin
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Companies that once filled warehouses with computers to earn Bitcoin - a process known as mining - are now using that computing power for AI.
Key facts
- One bitcoin was worth about $124,000 (£91,000) at its peak in October 2025, but has since fallen sharply
- Riot Platforms signed a $9bn, 20-year compute deal with Anthropic earlier this month
- More recently, it has rallied to around $80,000
- meaning it is up almost 30% so far in August
- TerraWulf, Ionic Digital, Core Scientific, Iris Energy, Bitdeer, Riot Platforms and Hut 8 are some of the companies increasingly diverting investment and infrastructure from bitcoin mining towards AI
Summary
Bitcoin mining companies invested large sums on giant banks of powerful computers as the price of Bitcoin rocketed in recent years. But those mining companies have faced falling rewards since the value of the cryptocurrency has slumped from its peak in October 2025. Now many are pivoting to AI and signing deals with companies such as Anthropic - who are spending billions of dollars on the infrastructure needed to keep up in the AI race. Like AI systems, Bitcoin relies on vast networks of powerful computers housed in data centres.