Bitcoin: mining is going through a historic crisis, is AI to blame?

Bitcoin’s mining network has gone more than a year without setting a new difficulty record for the first time in its history, a stretch that exceeds even the 2021 disruption following China’s mining ban. The prolonged stagnation reflects falling profitability and miner capitulation, with operators increasingly redirecting capital and capacity toward artificial intelligence as competition for compute and energy intensifies. The shift marks a structural transformation of the mining sector rather than a temporary downturn, as hashprice pressure and rising costs squeeze less efficient operators. What to watch next is whether difficulty resumes climbing as weaker miners exit and hardware is redeployed, and whether AI-driven demand continues to pull investment away from Bitcoin mining.