Nine public Bitcoin mining companies spent $5.11 billion, equivalent to Rp79 trillion, on capital expenditures during the first half of 2026. This capital was deployed to pivot toward providing artificial intelligence (AI) computing services. However, from that spending, they have only generated $341.2 million in direct revenue from the AI and high-performance computing (HPC) sector.
This situation highlights a spending-to-revenue ratio of 15-to-1. These companies are willing to take initial operational losses to secure a foothold amid the ongoing shift in the computing industry.
This spending trend becomes even more pronounced when the scope is expanded. Combined data from 15 Bitcoin mining companies and AI data centers shows that total capital expenditure reached $30.7 billion, or approximately Rp475 trillion, in the first half of 2026. This capital expenditure figure surged by 42.6% compared to the same period in 2025.
Changing Engines Mid-Journey
This gap between capital and revenue is not without reason. Converting Bitcoin mining infrastructure into AI data centers requires a fundamental overhaul. Mining companies cannot simply repurpose existing chip machinery to process AI workloads.
This transition requires massive upfront costs. Miners must build new electrical substations to support multiplied power demands. They also have to construct specialized facilities designed to house the entire AI hardware infrastructure.
Liquid cooling systems must be installed to stabilize hardware temperatures at operational levels. On the computing workload front, companies must acquire high-end graphics processing units (GPUs) to serve as the core engine for AI processing. This GPU procurement consumes the largest share of the overall capital expenditure budget.
Despite the high investment ratio, the computing pivot strategy is starting to show early results. Revenue from the AI and HPC business lines grew rapidly by 52% from the first to the second quarter of 2026. In the second quarter, this sector generated $205.8 million in revenue. Revenue growth was led by major mining players like Core Scientific, TeraWulf, and Bitdeer, which were the earliest to lease out their power facilities.
Shifts Among Asset Managers
Miners’ move to redirect their business focus has also shifted investment market valuations of the industry. Wall Street is beginning to realize that crypto miners are transforming into corporate providers of computing data center infrastructure.
Digital asset manager CoinShares took a significant step in response to these market trends. They officially shifted the focus of their Bitcoin mining ETF into an infrastructure-oriented fund. The investment product now carries the name CoinShares Bitcoin Mining and Digital Power ETF, trading under the ticker symbol WGMI.
This shift in focus is intentionally designed to embrace a much broader digital computing ecosystem, moving beyond just mining cryptocurrencies. For investors, the future narrative of miners is no longer solely dependent on Bitcoin’s price. They are betting that the established power infrastructure will become a crucial commodity supporting the foundation of the artificial intelligence economy.
As reported by Cointelegraph.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
