Bitcoin miners write down $1.5bn of hardware in AI pivot
Public bitcoin miners shed 75 EH/s of realised hashrate in the first half of 2026, hardware worth about $1.5bn, as they redirect power to AI and HPC sites.
Why it matters: The write-downs show how much capital miners had already sunk into mining capacity that AI conversions are now displacing, and how financing conditions shape the transition.
Key points
- Public miners lost 75 EH/s of realised hashrate while reported HPC and AI revenue rose 52% quarter on quarter.
- At $20 per TH/s, that hashrate equals roughly $1.5bn of mining machines, excluding buildings, cooling and installation.
- A review of 12 companies found about $1.1bn in impairments and held-for-sale markdowns in the first half of 2026, with IREN and Core Scientific about 89% of it.
Public bitcoin miners shed 75 EH/s of realised hashrate in the first half of 2026, hardware worth about $1.5bn at an assumed $20 per terahash, Bitcoin.com News reports. The figure comes from Miner Weekly, a Blocksbridge Consulting newsletter, and covers machines only, not buildings, electrical gear, cooling or installation.
A previous Miner Weekly issue found the same miners lost that hashrate while directly reported HPC and AI revenue rose 52% quarter on quarter, as power was redirected to AI infrastructure. A separate review of 12 tracked companies by TheEnergyMag identified about $1.1bn in asset impairments and held-for-sale markdowns in the first half of 2026, with IREN and Core Scientific accounting for almost 89%.
Hardware written down
Cipher's Black Pearl site began mining in mid-2025 and, after an agreement to convert it to high-performance computing, recorded a $96.1m markdown on its mining machines. Those machines produced $57.9m of revenue in 2025. IREN reached 50 EH/s in June 2025 and booked roughly $695m in impairments and markdowns in January to June 2026. Core Scientific blamed its main mining impairment on deteriorating mining economics.
TeraWulf earned about $53m in HPC leasing revenue in the first half while paying $131m in cash interest. The Information reported that Société Générale and SMBC are more selective on data centre financing and MUFG is stepping back. New York paused state environmental permits for new hyperscale projects, and the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark range to 3.75%-4%.
What to watch: No specific deadline or vote is named; the article says more selective lenders could mean tougher terms, extra equity funding or a slower buildout.
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