The “American Mining Dream” of Bitcoin Mining Firms Shattered! Miners Shift to AI Data Center Construction, Scarce Electricity Becomes Key to Valuation Reshaping

According to Zhihui Finance APP, US bitcoin mining companies are accelerating the shift of scarce electricity and large-scale data center campus resources toward building AI computing infrastructure, thereby significantly weakening the crypto industry base that Trump aimed to consolidate by promoting mining activities in the US. Bitcoin’s total market capitalization has dropped by about $1 trillion from its peak in October 2025, putting economic pressure on mining; at the same time, the surging demand for power capacity and data centers from mega-scale AI data center operators is prompting listed mining firms to reorient their businesses. Forecasts show that by the end of this year, the majority of revenue for US publicly listed mining companies will come from selling or leasing AI computing resources; the US-compliant mining pool Foundry USA’s share of hash power has also dropped from over a third to 26%.

After Trump’s return to the White House, advancing AI data centers and supporting energy infrastructure became a clear policy direction. An executive order signed on July 23, 2025, requires accelerated federal approval for data centers and related power infrastructure, and mandates the use of applicable federal land and resources to support construction. On June 18, 2026, the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission further required its six regulated regional grid operators to review the reasonableness of existing access rules for large electricity users, or propose reforms to accelerate connections for data centers and other facilities while preventing costs from being shifted to other users.

These Trump administration policies are intended to shorten construction and power supply wait times, but new power sources, grid, and equipment still need time to be built. Mining companies that have already secured power supply conditions at important sites or campuses are receiving increased attention from AI developers or hyper-scale cloud computing giants.

With Bitcoin’s performance stagnating in recent years, the shift among mining companies toward AI computing resources has materialized as long-term contracts. On July 20, Hut 8 disclosed that its Beacon Point campus in Texas, initially evaluated for development to serve affiliate client American Bitcoin, ultimately signed two 15-year AI lease agreements, with a combined IT capacity of 704 MW and basic contract value totaling $19.6 billion. On July 6, TeraWulf also announced a 20-year lease with Anthropic, involving approximately 401 MW of IT load, with expected basic contract income of about $1.9 billion, and capacity starting delivery in the second half of 2027. These long-term contracts provide companies with better revenue visibility and demonstrate the ability of large AI data center clients to secure power resources.

The core assets driving this transformation are undoubtedly power access, land, substation facilities, and project delivery capabilities. Existing mining farms still need to upgrade for power redundancy, liquid cooling, and network infrastructure to handle high-density AI computing; TeraWulf’s financial reports show the closure and repurposing of some mining facilities to expand high-performance computing operations, and recognizing accelerated depreciation and impairment charges. Thus, whether mining firms can achieve revaluation depends on whether long-term lease income can cover the costs of retrofitting, financing, and delivery risks.

The Trump administration’s support for accelerated AI data center construction and local mining are now commercially competing for limited power resources, and companies able to secure reliable clients and deliver key AI compute cluster facilities are better positioned to monetize existing energy assets as new cash flows.

The AI boom is unraveling Trump’s “Made in America” Bitcoin plan

Under the dual forces of an artificial intelligence boom and a prolonged crypto market downturn, Donald Trump’s promise to center bitcoin mining activity in the United States is rapidly coming undone.

Even after a recent rebound, bitcoin’s total market capitalization remains about $1 trillion below the October 2025 peak, and the economic incentives to mine the world’s highest-market-cap crypto asset – that is, earning rewards by validating transactions – have rarely been so weak.

Soaring resource demands from AI are prompting mining companies to race to adapt their facilities into data centers meeting the industry’s requirements. By year-end, most revenue for listed mining firms is projected to come from AI. Some cryptocurrency mining hardware manufacturers are following suit, pivoting to AI business.

According to data tracked by Seattle-based crypto mining services firm Luxor Technology, hash power currently devoted to bitcoin mining is down 18% from October of last year. Yet the market is not only shrinking but shifting – from the US to East Asia and parts of Russia, reversing a years-long trend.

“The biggest declines are among US-listed firms, as they divert electricity to AI,” said Luxor COO Ethan Vera. “We expect this trend to continue.”

For what was once a booming market, this is a radical reversal. During the 2024 election campaign, the sector was a key focus of Trump’s outreach to crypto supporters. Given potential competition from China, Trump said he wanted every bitcoin to be “made, mined, and minted” in America.

Trump’s own family has felt the change. Mining company American Bitcoin Corp., backed by the Trump family, was founded last year, just before bitcoin fell from all-time highs. The company has booked losses for three straight quarters, with its share price down about 90% in the past year.

China once dominated crypto mining, thanks to cheap energy and ready access to domestically-manufactured equipment from firms such as Bitmain. Beijing’s sweeping crackdown in 2021 changed that, pushing miners abroad. The US then became the market’s hub, with listed companies like MARA Holdings and Riot Platforms expanding rapidly.

These companies rely on institutional mining pools – platforms that aggregate hash power to improve miners’ chances of earning rewards. Because MARA and rivals are publicly listed in the US, they often use US-regulated pools such as Foundry USA. Meanwhile, Antpool and F2Pool are more popular with miners outside the US. According to Hashrate Index data, Foundry’s share of the bitcoin network’s hash power has fallen from over a third to 26%.

The chart above shows market share by mining pool – in recent months, US homegrown bitcoin mining hash power has dropped sharply. Note: as of August 31, snapshot of bitcoin mining market share by region over the last three days; Source: Hashrate Index.

Vera noted that mining pool data can only offer rough estimates of mining activity changes, but said the shift away from the US is very clear.

The Lingering Hardware Challenge

This shift can also be observed in the commercial decisions of cryptocurrency mining hardware manufacturers.

In March this year, California-based mining hardware startup Auradine Inc. changed its name to Velaura AI and began promoting a new chip design and intellectual property platform. In August, the company said it had raised $110 million in Series A, bringing its overall valuation to more than $1 billion.

“Our work with bitcoin ASICs helped us validate these technologies in high-volume production and demanding real-world deployment environments,” said Velaura AI co-founder and CEO Rajiv Khemani. He added that in recent years, “it’s become increasingly clear that power consumption and energy efficiency are now among the most important constraints facing AI data centers and new physical AI super-applications.”

Auradine’s business pivot suggests that the boom in US crypto mining in recent years may ultimately prove transitory. Even though China officially bans most types of crypto business, it still firmly controls the industry’s hardware supply chain. Bitmain remains near-monopolistic.

Even crypto-friendly lobbyists are now recognizing this reality.

The blockchain lobby group Digital Chamber said it’s very difficult to build manufacturing facilities in the US, especially energy-intensive ones. The group said mining equipment makers are actively seeking to move production to the US, but are often stymied by long permitting cycles, tough access to power, supply chain vulnerabilities, and tariffs.

Nevertheless, some efforts continue. One year ago, Block Inc., co-founded by Twitter’s Jack Dorsey, released its own mining machine Proto Rig, a sleek, gray, box-shaped device with fan ventilation. Since then, Block has made few public comments on Proto.

In July this year, Singapore-based Bitdeer Technologies Group announced a $36 million investment to build its first US manufacturing plant in Sparks, Nevada. The company expects the facility to produce 10,000 Sealminer mining machines per month for cryptocurrency mining.

“We still consider bitcoin mining a core pillar business,” said Bitdeer VP of AI Retainna Lin in an interview.