Whinstone CEO Chad Harris takes CNBC on a tour of the largest bitcoin mine in North America.
Crypto companies are suddenly at the center of deal-making. The catalyst is artificial intelligence.
Bitcoin mining companies have expansive data centers, with access to fiber lines and large amounts of power across the U.S. They’re exactly the types of facilities needed for compute-intensive AI operations, which means their sites and technology are in high demand.
Meanwhile, miners need to diversify. Following the bitcoin halving in April, an event that happens about once every four years, the business of generating new tokens has become much less profitable. JPMorgan Chase analysts wrote in a report earlier this month that “some operators are feeling the financial pinch from the recent block reward halving, which cut industry revenues in half, and are actively exploring exit strategies.”
With the burgeoning AI industry in need of capacity and bitcoin miners in search of new ways to generate returns on their hefty capital investments, mergers, financings and partnerships are rapidly coming together.
On Tuesday, U.S. bitcoin miner Core Scientific announced an expanded deal with CoreWeave, an Nvidia-backed startup that’s one of the main providers of the chipmaker’s technology for running AI models. Core Scientific will deliver 70 megawatts of computing infrastructure to support CoreWeave’s operations.
Core Scientific said the deal will generate an additional $1.2 billion in revenue over 12 years, on top of an existing arrangement that is expected to bring in $3.5 billion. In total, the company plans to provide about 270 megawatts of infrastructure to CoreWeave by the second half of 2025, with the possibility of adding an additional 230 megawatts at other Core Scientific sites.
Earlier this month, CoreWeave offered to buy Core Scientific for $1.02 billion, not long after their initial agreement. Core Scientific rejected the bid. The company, which returned to the public market in January after going through bankruptcy, is currently worth about $1.8 billion.
“The world is changing, and many data centers built in the last 20 years are not suitable to support future computing requirements,” Core Scientific CEO Adam Sullivan said in Tuesday’s press release.
Hut 8, based in Miami, is one of many crypto mining companies pivoting to AI. The company said in its first-quarter earnings report last month that it had purchased its first batch of 1,000 Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs) and secured a customer agreement with a venture-backed AI cloud platform. Hut 8 generates 6% of sales from AI, according to CoinShares.
“The broader market is beginning to appreciate the scarcity of high-quality power assets, and Hut 8 has built a deep pipeline of highly attractive expansion assets,” Robert Yin, a partner at Coatue, said in the financing announcement.
Hut 8 CEO Asher Genoot recently told CNBC his company “finalized commercial agreements for our new AI vertical under a GPU-as-a-service model, including a customer agreement which provides for fixed infrastructure payments plus revenue sharing.”
Bit Digital dumps tokens to buy GPUs
Bit Digital, a bitcoin miner that now derives an estimated 27% of its revenue from AI, said on Monday that it had entered into an agreement with a customer to supply 2,048 Nvidia GPUs over three years, doubling the number of processors it has providing the unspecified client.
To fulfill the contract, Bit Digital ordered 256 servers from Dell Technologies, and will soon deploy them at a data center in Iceland. The company said the contract is expected to generate $92 million in annual revenue. It’s paying for the GPUs, in part, by dumping some crypto.
“The Company intends to finance the deal with a mixture of cash and digital assets on the balance sheet,” Bit Digital said.
Bit Digital also entered a so-called sale-leaseback agreement for half of the new GPUs, “which will reduce the company’s capital outlay commensurately.” With the leaseback, another company owns those GPUs, and Bit Digital leases them back, generating revenue by providing the technology to customers.
People wait in line for t-shirts at a pop-up kiosk for the online brokerage Robinhood along Wall Street after the company went public with an IPO earlier in the day on July 29, 2021 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
While most of the recent crypto deals involve miners, there has been at least one big notable exception.
Earlier this month, trading platform Robinhoodagreed to a deal to buy Bitstamp, a Luxembourg-based crypto exchange, for around $200 million in cash.
Bitstamp holds 50 active licenses and registrations across the globe, and is popular in Europe and Asia. The purchase helps Robinhood, a retail-focused trading app, bolster its crypto operation to better take on Binance and Coinbase.
The deal, due to close next year, comes as Robinhood faces regulatory challenges in the U.S. over its crypto dealings. In May, the company said it received a Wells notice for its crypto operations. The Securities and Exchange Commission has also sued Coinbase and Binance.
Robinhood had $4.7 billion in cash and equivalents at the end of the first quarter. Its stock is up 75% this year.
JiYue, a Chinese EV brand focused on delivering all-electric “robocars” to the masses, has unveiled its latest model, and it’s quite a deviation from its previous EVs—but in the best way. Earlier today, JiYue launched the ROBO X supercar, designed for high-speed racing. By high speed, we mean 0-100 km/h acceleration in under 1.9 seconds. My mouth is watering.
JiYue has only existed since 2021, when parent tech company Baidu announced it was expanding from software development into physical EV production, joining forces with multinational automotive manufacturer Geely.
The new “robotic EV” marque initially launched as JIDU with $300 million in startup capital before garnering an additional $400 million in Series A funding, led by Baidu, in January 2022.
In August 2023, Geely took on a larger role in JIDU alongside a greater financial stake as the brand reimagined itself as JiYue, inheriting the JIDU logo and its flagship model, the 01 ROBOCAR.
The 07 finally launched in China earlier this year with 545 miles of range. With an all-electric SUV and sedan on the market, JiYue has unveiled an exciting new entry in the form of a performance supercar called the ROBO X. Check it out:
JiYue’s new ROBO X EV is available for pre-order now
JiYue showcased its new ROBO X hypercar in front of the crowd at the 2024 Guangzhou Auto Show earlier today. Similar to previous models but with a unique spin, JiYue described the ROBO X as an AI smart-driving supercar that, for the first time, blends artificial intelligence and autonomous driving into a high-performance, race-ready EV.
When we say “high performance,” we mean a quad motor liquid-cooled drive system that can propel the ROBO X from 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) in under 1.9 seconds. JiYue called the new ROBO X a “performance beast” with “the perfect balance of excellent aerodynamic performance and high downforce.” JiYue CEO Joe Xia was even bolder in his statements about the ROBO X:
For the next 20 years, the design of supercars will bear the shadow of Robo X. This is the best design in the history of Chinese automobiles today, and it is a landmark presence.
Fighter-style airflow ducts bolster the EV’s aerodynamics, efficiency, and overall posture. Per JiYue, the two-seater ROBO X is expected to deliver a maximum range of over 650 km (404 miles).
The new supercar features falcon-wing doors, a carbon fiber integrated frame, and a professional racing HALO safety system offering 360° of support. The interior features an AI smart cockpit with SIMO real-time feedback to give drivers an immersive racing experience.
Furthermore, JiYue said the vehicle will utilize parent company Baidu’s Apollo self-driving technology, which could make it the first electric supercar to apply pure-vision ADAS technology that enables track-level autonomous driving.
Following today’s unveiling of the ROBO X, JiYue has officially opened up pre-orders in China for RMB 49,999 ($6,915). That said, reservation holders will need to be patient as JiYue shared that it doesn’t expect to begin mass production of the ROBO X until 2027.
What do you think? Will people be talking about the ROBO X for the next 20 years?
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This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time, that includes the launch of the Lectric XPedition 2.0, Yamaha e-bikes pulling out of North America, LiveWire unveils an electric scooter concept, PNY readying its cargo e-scooters for pilot testing, Royal Enfield’s first electric motorcycle, and more.
The Wheel-E podcast returns every two weeks on Electrek’s YouTube channel, Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter.
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Crude oil futures were on pace Friday for loss for the week, as a supply gut and a strong dollar depresses the market.
U.S. crude oil is down more than 2% this week, while Brent has shed nearly 2%.
Here are Friday’s energy prices:
West Texas Intermediate December contract: $68.56 per barrel, down 14 cents, or 0.2%. Year to date, U.S. crude oil has shed about 4%.
Brent January contract: $72.36 per barrel, down 20 cents, or 0.28%. Year to date, the global benchmark has lost nearly 6%.
RBOB Gasoline December contract: $1.99 per gallon, up 0.46%. Year to date, gasoline has fallen more than 1%.
Natural Gas December contract: $2.70 per thousand cubic feet, down 2.98%. Year to date, gas has gained more than 4%.
The International Energy Agency has forecast a surplus of more than 1 million barrels per day in 2025 on robust production in the U.S. OPEC revised down its demand forecast for the fourth consecutive month as demand in China remains soft.
A strong dollar also hangs over the market, as the greenback has surged in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory.