A significant wave of spending has swept across the public Bitcoin mining sector, with companies channeling billions into artificial intelligence and high performance computing (HPC) infrastructure. Despite this investment, returns have yet to match expectations, data from research firm BlocksBridge Consulting shows.
Billions Invested, Revenue Trails Behind
During the first half of 2026, nine publicly traded Bitcoin miners spent a total of $5.11 billion on capital assets, including hardware and equipment. However, their combined AI and HPC revenue reached only $341.2 million in the same period.
For every dollar of revenue generated from AI and HPC, roughly $15 was spent on infrastructure by these mining companies. These expenses reflect broader investments in facilities, not just AI-specific outlays.
Public miners have poured $5.11 billion into capital assets but have generated just $341.2 million in AI and HPC revenue during the first six months of 2026.
BlocksBridge noted that while Bitcoin miners enjoy existing advantages such as land, electricity agreements, and power grid access, building out AI-ready facilities requires further major upgrades. Key investments include substations, cooling systems, networking infrastructure, and advanced graphics processing units. These modifications demand upfront financing well before any operational revenue begins to flow.
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Core Scientific, a leading Bitcoin miner and data center operator, allocated $797.5 million to capital assets in the second quarter of 2026. In the same period, its colocation revenue increased to $136.7 million, compared to $77.5 million in the previous quarter.
The company stated that by mid-July, it billed customers for 437 megawatts of capacity. Core Scientific also secured agreements with semiconductor manufacturer AMD, covering an estimated 530 megawatts across five operational sites.
TeraWulf, another mining firm, has shifted further toward data center leasing. In the first quarter of 2026, its HPC revenue surpassed income from Bitcoin mining.
Broadening the scope, a group of 15 miners and AI-focused data center companies invested a total of $30.7 billion during their most recent reporting periods in 2026, up 42.6% from the $21.53 billion seen in all of 2025.
| Company | 2026 H1 Capital Expenditures | 2026 Q2 Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| CoreWeave | $14.12 billion | $2.58 billion |
| Nebius | $8.13 billion | $582.3 million |
Mini dictionary: CoreWeave and Nebius are major AI data center companies specializing in providing high performance computing resources, including GPU-powered infrastructure, for enterprise and blockchain applications.
CoreWeave contributed $14.12 billion of this spending in the first half of the year, surpassing its entire 2025 investment. Nebius followed with $8.13 billion, mainly for GPUs and data center expansion. CoreWeave’s Q2 revenue rose 24% to $2.58 billion, while Nebius posted $582.3 million, a 46% increase from the first quarter.
Changing Strategies and Expanding Funds
Several mining companies have adopted varied financial strategies to fund the shift. MARA Holdings, a major mining firm, sold $1.5 billion of Bitcoin in the first quarter of 2026 to support new infrastructure.
HIVE, which operates both Bitcoin mining and computing centers, reported a 94% increase in HPC revenue to $19.5 million during its financial year, though Bitcoin mining remains its main source of income.
CoinShares has broadened the scope of its WGMI fund to include not only Bitcoin miners, but also data centers, AI chipmakers, and electricity producers.
Investment interest has expanded as well. Digital asset manager CoinShares updated its WGMI fund, which now includes data center firms, AI hardware makers, and energy producers alongside miners. The fund, which held 29 companies valued at $225.6 million as of August 18, must maintain at least 80% of its holdings in entities affiliated with mining and computing infrastructure.
As efforts to adapt continue, the success of these investments will depend on Bitcoin miners’ ability to deliver new capacity on schedule and convert contracts into steady revenue. For now, expenditures still substantially exceed returns.
