HashrateUp - A Bitcoin Mining Podcast

Bitcoin's Back - Miners Are Quitting for AI Anyway [NEWS]

HashrateUp - A Bitcoin Mining Podcast

Show Notes

Bitcoin's back above $70K and hash price ripped more than 10% — from the lows of $31 all the way to $35. Great news for anyone running machines. But public miners are still dismantling capacity to chase AI money, and this may be the first true hashrate bear market ever.

In this news roundup: a difficulty adjustment looms that could confirm bullish conditions, public miners have sold most of their BTC stack, Russia bans mining in Moscow through 2032, and the AI pivot keeps swallowing gigawatts — Riot's confirmed 20-year Anthropic lease, Core Scientific's Polaris deal, Cipher, TeraWolf, Ionic and more all trading Bitcoin mining for HPC. Plus the Zcash mining surge nobody saw coming.

The big question: if the AI trade cracks — China chip progress, cheaper models like Kimi K3 — what happens to the capital funding these 20-year leases?

🛠 Sponsored by: Altair Technology — ASIC hardware, replacement parts & mining infrastructure Code: HASHRATEUP https://altairtech.io/aff/125/

Luxor — Mining software, firmware & hashrate tools https://luxor.tech/

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro — Bitcoin back above $70K, hash price $31 → $35 0:40 Upcoming difficulty adjustment — why it matters 1:43 Core Scientific closes Polaris deal — 1.5 GW Oklahoma AI campus 2:20 Cango's revenue halves as it pivots from mining to AI 2:47 Bitdeer revenue +47%, shares down 77% 4:42 Riot × Anthropic — 20-year Rockdale lease confirmed 5:14 $573M debt for 191 MW AI conversion — the cost of pivoting 7:10 Public miners selling BTC — 127K down to 29K 7:52 Russia bans mining in Moscow region through 2032 8:20 Sponsor: Luxor 9:51 Public miners shed 21% of hashrate as AI accelerates 11:55 The first-ever hashrate bear market explained 12:32 Cipher secures 900 MW Texas site + Black Pearl AI 13:38 TeraWolf hits 71% AI leasing revenue 14:16 Ionic — AI leasing replaces Bitcoin mining 14:54 Sponsor: Altair 15:25 Bitdeer's $400M Malaysia AI contract 16:20 Is the AI trade cracking? Kimi K3 & model costs 17:10 Fortitude & the Zcash mining surge 19:39 Hash price outlook & difficulty bias

📊 HashrateUp Hardware Deals: https://t.me/hashrateup 📩 Free 5-Day Bitcoin Mining Course: https://hashrateup.com/newsletter-sign-up/

#BitcoinMining #AIPivot #DataCenter #HashPrice #Anthropic #HashrateBearMarket #Zcash #BitcoinNews #Russia #HashrateUp

More from HashrateUp - A Bitcoin Mining Podcast

Oct 23, 2026

Curtailing your mine can cost you more than running it. Dan Lawrence, CEO and co-founder of OBM, started mining in a garage in Maryland in 2017 and built Foreman to stop driving an hour to reboot machines. Today Foreman turns Bitcoin miners on and off based on power prices, profitability and grid stress. Now Dan is building Vantage, a platform that reads the utility meter every 10 seconds and shows miners what their power bill really looks like.

Oct 20, 2026

HashrateUp Hydro Hosting is live: enterprise-grade, hydro-cooled hosting in Texas, now open to small miners starting at just one machine. 👉 Get started: https://hashrateup.com

Oct 17, 2026

Public Bitcoin miners shed about 75 EH/s in the first half of 2026, roughly $1.5 billion worth of mining hardware, as their power moves to AI. In this NEWS episode, Jesse breaks down who is leaving, where the hashrate is going and what it means for the miners who stay.

Oct 14, 2026

Cheap power means nothing if the government turns against you. Giannis Andreou, CEO of Bitmern Mining, started hosting Bitcoin miners in the UAE on agricultural power below 6¢/kWh, was forced out when the government banned that power, moved to Ethiopia, and is now watching the same story repeat as the Ethiopian government takes over mining and large operators pack up and leave.

Sep 26, 2026

Texas is ending 4CP. The incentive that saved flexible miners roughly $50,000 per MW per year is likely in its final season, and ERCOT is moving toward 12CP by 2028. Haley Thomson, Director of Energy at Luxor, explains what that means for Bitcoin miners and who ends up paying for the grid.Haley breaks down how 4CP actually works, why firm loads are pushing for change, and how 18+ GW of new battery storage has compressed capacity prices across ERCOT. We also cover why Bitcoin mining is close to the perfect grid-balancing load, how batteries and miners compare as grid assets, and how Luxor performed what's likely the first 4CP curtailment of GPUs in ERCOT.We also walk through the Luxor Energy dashboard live, from tracking load against breakeven to iMiner underclocking, 4CP buffer settings and what it really costs to be online during a peak. At the time of recording, 4CP season 2026 was likely already over.This episode is not sponsored by Luxor. Nothing discussed is financial advice. Do your own diligence before making energy or mining decisions.Guest: Haley Thomson, Director of Energy at Luxor TechnologyLuxor Energy: https://luxor.tech/energyHaley on Hashrate Index: https://hashrateindex.com/blog/author/haley/Luxor: https://luxor.techTimestamps:0:00 Intro0:45 Can AI provide grid flexibility?1:31 The first GPU 4CP curtailment in ERCOT3:45 What 4CP is worth: ~$50K per MW per year6:02 How 4CP works and who pays for the grid8:54 Why Bitcoin mining is the perfect flexible load11:45 Adding 60 GW of renewables: the transmission bottleneck14:00 Why firm loads want 4CP gone16:43 How miners lower off-peak energy prices20:57 Renewables, congestion and transmission costs24:54 12CP explained: what changes for miners29:29 Curtailing at $0 power: the solar mismatch31:04 How 18 GW of batteries reshaped ERCOT36:22 Battery vs Bitcoin mine39:10 Capex: batteries vs hydro vs air-cooled mining41:49 Luxor Energy dashboard walkthrough43:54 iMiner: raising breakeven from $75 to $90/MWh45:28 4CP buffer settings and risk48:58 What missing a 4CP peak really costs51:54 The AI pivot and tier-zero data centers55:11 Where to find Haley and Luxor EnergySponsored by:Altair Technology. ASIC hardware, replacement parts and mining infrastructureCode: HASHRATEUPhttps://altairtech.io/aff/125/HashrateUp Hardware Deals: https://t.me/hashrateupFree 5-Day Bitcoin Mining Course: https://hashrateup.com/newsletter-sign-up/#BitcoinMining #ERCOT #4CP #LuxorEnergy #HashrateUp

See all episodes →