Major Bitcoin Miner to Dump its $BTC to Fund AI Plans

Core Scientific (NASDAQ: CORZ) is selling off virtually all of its Bitcoin to bankroll a full pivot into artificial intelligence. The company held 2,537 BTC worth roughly $222 million as of December 31, 2025, and plans to liquidate the bulk of it in Q1 2026. Most of that selling is already done. In January alone, the miner offloaded over 1,900 BTC for about $175 million, leaving fewer than 1,000 coins on the books heading into March.

The message from CEO Adam Sullivan is clear: Bitcoin mining is no longer the long-term play. Operations are in what the company calls "runoff" mode, kept alive only to meet minimum power contracts while legacy sites get converted into AI-focused colocation facilities.

Why Is Core Scientific Dumping Its Bitcoin?

Money. The kind of capital needed to build out data centers for AI workloads.

The proceeds from the BTC sales are not being reinvested in mining rigs. They are funding the buildout of high-density colocation infrastructure. Core Scientific operates 10 U.S. data centers with about 1.4 GW of gross utility power and 920 MW of leasable customer capacity. That's a massive footprint, and it's all being retooled.

The anchor deal driving this transition is a contract with CoreWeave, an AI infrastructure provider, worth up to $4 billion in potential financing tied to a 590 MW agreement. The company claims over $10 billion in total AI/HPC contracts. But there is a risk baked in: CoreWeave currently accounts for 100% of colocation revenue, making Core Scientific heavily dependent on a single client.

The Numbers Tell the Story

Core Scientific's Q4 2025 earnings painted a grim picture for the mining side of the business:

• Revenue came in at $79.8 million, down 16% year-over-year and missing Wall Street estimates of $122 million by a wide margin
• Mining output fell 57%
• CORZ stock dropped 2.83% on Monday following the announcement

To make matters messier, the company also disclosed it is restating financial statements for multiple quarters across 2024 and 2025 due to accounting errors tied to property and equipment. Core Scientific said assets committed to demolition were improperly capitalized instead of impaired. The restatement has no impact on revenue or cash flows, but it does not exactly inspire confidence during a major business transition.

The January BTC sales averaged roughly $92,100 per coin, well above Bitcoin's current spot price around $68,000. That means the company timed its exit relatively well, given where the market sits now. With an estimated 630 BTC left to sell, the remaining liquidation should wrap up this quarter.

Is This Just a Core Scientific Problem?

Not even close. This is an industry-wide shift.

Since the 2024 halving, Bitcoin mining margins have been crushed. Hashprice sits at $27.58/PH per day, and for many miners, costs now exceed what they earn from mining BTC at current prices. AI offers a way out. Data center contracts can deliver 80-90% operating margins, dwarfing the razor-thin returns from mining.

Analysts project that mining revenue will drop from 85% of total revenue for public miners in early 2025 to under 20% by late 2026. An estimated 20% of miner power capacity is expected to shift to AI by 2027. The sector has already disclosed $65 billion in AI/HPC contracts collectively.

Who Else Is Making the Pivot?

Core Scientific is far from alone. Here are some of the biggest names making the same bet:

• Riot Platforms (RIOT) is converting Texas sites to a mixed BTC/HPC model with 1.7 GW of potential capacity valued at $9-21 billion for AI. Stock is up 104% YTD.
• IREN signed a $9.7 billion five-year deal with Microsoft and is leasing 200 MW for GPU cloud services.
• TeraWulf (WULF) is repurposing sites in New York and Texas with 200 MW in 10-year AI agreements, backed by Google-funded Fluidstack. Stock up 52% YTD.
• Cipher Mining (CIFR) landed a $5.5 billion 15-year lease with AWS.
• Bitfarms (BITF) is winding down mining entirely, targeting a full shutdown by 2027.
• MARA Holdings acquired a 64% stake in Exaion for AI/cloud services and is selling BTC to fund the expansion.

The common thread: miners already have what AI companies desperately need. Cheap power, cooling infrastructure, and data center expertise. AI energy consumption surpassed Bitcoin mining in 2025, and demand is only accelerating.

What Does This Mean for Bitcoin?

Short term, more selling pressure. When large miners offload thousands of BTC in a compressed timeframe, it adds supply to a market already under stress. Bitcoin is trading around $68,000 as of early March 2026, down sharply from its October 2025 all-time high above $126,000.

Longer term, this reshapes what a "Bitcoin miner" even is. These companies are evolving from BTC accumulators into hybrid energy and compute businesses. Those that execute the pivot could see real valuation upside from AI contracts. Those that don't risk being left behind.

The era of miners stacking sats and hodling is fading. The new playbook is selling the coins, keeping the power, and renting it to the AI industry.

Sources:

• The Energy Mag — Original report on Core Scientific's BTC sale and AI pivot plans
• CoinDesk — Coverage of January 2026 BTC sales, CoreWeave deal details, and CEO Sullivan's comments
• Stock Titan — Core Scientific annual report data, power capacity figures, and financial restatement details
• BeInCrypto — Q4 2025 earnings breakdown and revenue miss analysis
• Wu Blockchain on X — Breaking announcement of Core Scientific's planned BTC liquidation