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Crypto firms like Hut 8, Hive Blockchain and IREN are converting GPU farms from crypto mining to AI cloud services, highlighting a new revenue path as mining
Crypto companies that once bought GPUs to mine cryptocurrency are now redirecting those same cards toward artificial‑intelligence (AI) workloads. Hut 8, Hive Blockchain and IREN have each announced plans to lease or sell GPU capacity for AI training, seeking to offset the loss of mining revenue after the crypto market slumped and Ethereum moved to proof‑of‑stake [1].
Key takeaways
Hut 8 and Hive Blockchain, both owners of large GPU racks, have begun offering high‑performance computing (HPC) services to external clients. Hut 8’s GPU‑time revenue of $16.9 million in 2023 represented a modest but growing share of its earnings, while Hive reported a $1 million AI‑related income in 2022 and projects $10 million in 2024, doubling to $20 million the following year [1]. The shift reflects the broader industry trend of repurposing mining hardware for AI, as Nvidia’s AI‑optimized cards such as the H100 “Hopper” remain scarce and expensive, making older gaming‑class GPUs a more viable interim solution [1].
IREN (also known as Iris Energy) has taken a more aggressive approach, purchasing 4,200 Nvidia Blackwell B200 GPUs and expanding its fleet to 8,500 units at its Prince George data center in British Columbia [2]. The company says the new GPUs, together with existing H100, H200, B200 and B300 models, will support both continued Bitcoin mining (estimated at ~50 EH/s) and a growing AI cloud business. Financing for the GPU acquisition is being arranged through a 36‑month lease at a “high single‑digit interest rate,” funded largely by existing cash and a $102 million loan for earlier GPU purchases [2].
The conversion of mining GPUs to AI workloads illustrates how crypto‑related firms are adapting to a market where traditional mining profits have eroded. By leveraging the parallel‑processing strength of GPUs, these companies can tap into the rapidly expanding demand for AI training infrastructure, though they will face stiff competition from established cloud providers that already offer specialized AI services [1]. The success of this pivot will depend on the firms’ ability to manage operational costs, maintain hardware suitable for AI models, and secure financing without diluting shareholder value. As the AI cloud market continues to grow, the repurposing of mining hardware could become a critical bridge for crypto firms seeking sustainable revenue streams.
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GPUs contain thousands of smaller cores optimized for simultaneous, repetitive operations, allowing them to process hashing workloads much faster than the sequential processing strengths of CPUs.
Ethereum's switch to a proof-of-stake algorithm made GPU mining for that network economically infeasible, leading many miners to sell their equipment or attempt to pivot to other, often less profitable, proof-of-work coins.
AI-assisted synthesis by the TrendWatcher Editorial Desk · sourced from 3 outlets · Jun 12, 2026 · How we report
Profitability is impacted by the amount of cryptocurrency rewards earned, which for Bitcoin are pre-programmed to halve every four years or after every 210,000 blocks.
Yes, GPU mining consumes significant amounts of electricity, and reports have noted that a large percentage of the energy used for mining has been generated by fossil fuels, contributing to carbon dioxide emissions.