Is the currency mode not popular anymore? Bitcoin mining companies collectively selling off their positions and turning to AI business for added growth.

Over the years, large Bitcoin mining companies have always adhered to a near-religious business logic, holding onto mined Bitcoins for the long term, believing that scarcity will eventually reward patience, and accumulating digital assets itself is seen as a competitive barrier. Some mining companies have accumulated Bitcoin reserves worth billions of dollars on their balance sheets, referring to this model as an "asset reserve strategy," while bullish investors see it as a steadfast belief in cryptocurrency. However, this strategy is now undergoing significant changes. In a group of mining companies holding over $8 billion worth of Bitcoin, a quiet but accelerating sell-off is taking place. The reasons for different companies are varied - some are under pressure from shareholders, while others are facing reality of rising electricity costs and declining mining profits, but the overall direction is the same, mining companies are selling Bitcoin. And the destination of these funds reveals a new judgment on the industry's future development. In most cases, the answer is artificial intelligence. The large warehouse-style facilities, cheap and abundant electricity resources, and operational capabilities for high-capital-intensive infrastructure that were once used for Bitcoin mining are now being repurposed or repackaged as artificial intelligence data center businesses. These originally mining-focused computing infrastructure are gradually transitioning into AI computing centers. American Bitcoin mining company MARA Holdings (MARA.US) is a representative of this transformation. The company, the second largest Bitcoin holding company in the world after Michael Saylor's Strategy (MSTR.US), currently holds nearly $4 billion in Bitcoin reserves. The company is adjusting its strategy to allow space for potentially selling some of its Bitcoin reserves in the future. Other mining companies are more aggressive in their actions. CleanSpark (CLSK.US) and Riot Platforms (RIOT.US) have accelerated their transition to AI businesses by adjusting their top management teams, while Bitdeer Technologies (BTDR.US) has completely liquidated its Bitcoin holdings. Industry insiders believe that this transformation is no longer experimental, but becoming a new core strategy. In terms of economic returns, Bitcoin mining revenue is highly dependent on variables such as the price trend of the coin, network computing power difficulty, and halving cycles, which are predictable but difficult to control. Using the same electricity resources for AI computing services can provide more stable long-term income, and the profit gap between the two is becoming increasingly apparent. Kevin O'Leary, founder of OLeary Funds Management, stated that if a Bitcoin mining company were to announce that its mining facility had been taken over by a major cloud computing company and repurposed as an AI computing facility, its stock price valuation could increase fivefold. He pointed out that this does not mean a decrease in market demand for Bitcoin, just that the return on investment in AI businesses is higher. The sell-off of Bitcoin by mining companies is also causing more anxiety in an already fragile crypto market. The current price of Bitcoin has dropped more than 40% from its historical high of around $126,000 in October 2025, despite recent price rebounds. In response to market concerns about its sale of Bitcoin, MARA Holdings indicated that its latest strategic disclosure allows the company to sell part of its reserves, but does not mean a large-scale sell-off. The company's stock price fell by about 8% on related news, but later rebounded by about 5.7%. Analysts point out that in the past, mining companies sold Bitcoin in times of market downturn mainly to cover operating costs, but this current wave of sales is more for providing funds for strategic transformation rather than survival. Analysts at JPMorgan Chase stated in a report that recent earnings conference calls for many mining companies have focused on progress and financing of collaborations related to high-performance computing (HPC) or AI data centers. Additionally, shareholder pressure is also a significant factor driving transformation. For example, Riot Platforms, which owns one of the largest mining facilities in Texas, is being pushed by activist investor Starboard to accelerate the development of AI data center projects. Matthew Kimmel, a digital asset analyst at CoinShares, stated that the value of Bitcoin mining companies transitioning to artificial intelligence lies in the stability of revenue from electricity resources and future computing power contracts, which are less correlated with Bitcoin prices and therefore more favored by public market investors.