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Bitcoin Miners Emerge as Strategic AI Infrastructure Partners

A tightening U.S. power grid is fostering closer collaboration between Bitcoin miners and AI developers, according to Bernstein.

Rising demand for AI and digital workloads has made grid access a major bottleneck for new data center growth, with interconnection timelines stretching up to seven years. Miners, having secured large renewable energy contracts years ago, now control more than 14 gigawatts (GW) of capacity, offering AI providers a faster, lower-cost path to scale, analysts led by Gautam Chhugani wrote.

Mining sites operated by IREN (IREN) and Riot Platforms (RIOT) can reduce deployment times by up to 75% compared with greenfield projects. Existing mining facilities already run at high power densities with advanced cooling systems, making them ideal for retrofitting AI workloads.

Bernstein called miners “strategic enablers” of AI expansion and named IREN a top pick with an outperform rating and $75 price target. IREN shares rose 5.7% in early trading Friday, reaching roughly $67.50.