📉 Bitcoin Mining Stocks Drop as Microsoft Halts AI Datacenter Expansion

Bitcoin mining stocks tumbled on March 26 after Microsoft reportedly scrapped plans to invest in new artificial intelligence datacenters in the US and Europe, citing concerns over potential oversupply.

Shares of major crypto miners, including Bitfarms, CleanSpark, Core Scientific, Hut 8, Marathon Digital, and Riot, fell between 4% and 12% in response to the news.

While some analysts had anticipated Microsoft’s pullback, the stock price declines highlight the growing dependence of Bitcoin miners on AI-related business.

According to Benchmark stock analyst Mark Palmer, the downturn in mining stocks appears to be influenced more by Bitcoin’s stagnant price and persistently high mining difficulty rather than Microsoft’s decision.

In an effort to diversify revenue streams, miners have increasingly invested in AI datacenter hosting. Core Scientific, for example, committed 200 MW of capacity to AI firm CoreWeave in mid-2024.

VanEck previously estimated that Bitcoin mining stocks could see a $37b boost in market capitalization if they continue expanding into AI. However, declining crypto prices and potential waning demand for AI datacenters could add further financial strain on miners, according to JPMorgan.

Microsoft’s decision to cut back on new datacenters reportedly stems from an oversupply of computing capacity for AI models, as well as the company scaling back some collaborations with OpenAI.

In recent months, Microsoft has canceled various datacenter leases and delayed capacity expansions. Bloomberg reports that Microsoft’s datacenter investments are expected to slow further in the latter half of 2025 as the company completes its $80b in planned buildouts and focuses on upgrading existing infrastructure.

🗞️ In the News

• Crusoe Energy is selling its Bitcoin mining business, including 425 modular datacenters across the US and Argentina, to NYDIG to focus on expanding its AI infrastructure.

• Bitcoin mining revenues have stabilized post-halving, reaching $3.7b in Q4 2024 according to Coinmetrics.

• Auradine sees Trump's trade policies and push for onshore Bitcoin mining as an opportunity for US mining rig manufacturers to reduce reliance on Chinese hardware, despite supply chain disruptions and decentralization concerns.

• Riot has signed a non-binding term sheet to acquire Rhodium's assets at the Rockdale Facility for $185m in cash, stock, and deposit returns, pending bankruptcy court approval, while both parties agree to dismiss litigation and settle claims.

• Bitfarms has appointed James Bond as Senior Vice President of High-Performance Computing to lead its HPC/AI strategy.

📰 Mining Updates

🧑‍🌾 Bitfarms Q4 2024

• Q4 2024 revenue reached $56m, a 21% YoY increase. Gross mining margin stood at 47%, down from 57% in Q4 2023, as the company faced rising costs and ongoing market volatility.

• The company's hashrate grew significantly to 18.6 EH/s, up 186% from Q4 2023, reflecting a major expansion of mining capacity. Efficiency improved to 19w/TH, representing a 45% increase from Q4 2023.

• The company now has a 1.4 GW energy pipeline, with nearly 80% based in the U.S., securing a solid foundation for future growth and energy needs.

• Bitfarms completed the acquisition of Stronghold Digital Mining and sold its Yguazu datacenter to HIVE Digital Technologies, advancing its strategic goals.

• Net income for Q4 was $15m, or $0.03 per share, a significant improvement from a $62m loss in Q4 2023,. Adjusted EBITDA totaled $14m, or 25% of revenue, reflecting solid cash flow generation despite some margin compression.

• In Q4, Bitfarms sold 502 BTC at an average price of $81,400, generating $41m, which was used for ongoing strategic investments.

• Operating capacity grew to 394 MW, a 64% increase from Q3 2024, continuing to expand the company's infrastructure and operational scale.

• As of March 2025, Bitfarms reported total liquidity of $135m, supported by $50m in equity offerings and BTC sales.

• The company increased its hashrate by 40% and improved efficiency by 45% in just the last quarter, highlighting ongoing progress in its mining operations.

• A strategic shift toward U.S. energy and HPC/AI infrastructure aims to diversify revenue streams and reduce the company's reliance on BTC price fluctuations.

• CAPEX for 2025 is expected to be 20% lower than originally planned, with the company reallocating funds toward U.S. energy and infrastructure development.

🫦 BIT Mining

• BIT Mining produced 42.56 BTC in February 2025, with 36.854 BTC for hosted clients and 5.708 BTC self-mined.

• Additionally, the company mined 2,013,292.9 Dogecoin and 556.7 Litecoin.

• Total capacity reached 2,588 PH/s. The average time to mine a self-mined BTC was 4.5 days, with a cost of $60,960 per BTC.

• CEO Xianfeng Yang highlighted improved efficiency and reduced costs, noting profitability in Litecoin and Dogecoin mining.

• BIT Mining continues to scale its core Bitcoin operations while diversifying revenue streams.

• The Ethiopia datacenter acquisition is progressing, with full completion expected soon, enhancing operational results.