Core Scientific이 AI 인프라 운영으로 사업을 전환하면서 비트코인 채굴 자산 $1.1 billion을 손각합니다.

In the first half of 2026, public mining companies wrote off approximately $1.1 billion in asset value as they restructured operations and shifted focus toward artificial intelligence, according to TheEnergyMag. Experts estimated an additional $1.5 billion in equipment value corresponding to mining capacity that was deactivated.

From January to June 2026, twelve tracked public companies recorded approximately $1.1 billion in write-offs and asset markdowns for sale, with IREN and Core Scientific accounting for nearly 89% of the total. Over the same period, public miners reduced their combined hash rate by approximately 75 EH/s. Equipment representing this capacity, valued at $20 per TH/s, totals roughly $1.5 billion—excluding the value of buildings, power systems, cooling infrastructure, and installation costs.

TheEnergyMag reported that public miners' revenue from high-performance computing and artificial intelligence services grew 52% over the quarter, as several companies began redirecting electricity and infrastructure previously dedicated to bitcoin mining toward AI workloads. These two figures—$1.1 billion and $1.5 billion—represent different measures: the first reflects accounting write-offs and asset markdowns, while the second estimates the value of equipment corresponding to deactivated mining capacity. Experts cautioned against combining these figures as a single loss, as they capture different aspects of the transition.

Cipher Mining provides a notable example. Its Black Pearl facility began bitcoin mining in mid-2025, but by year-end, the company had already begun preparing the site for conversion to HPC services. Cipher consequently wrote off $96.1 million in mining equipment value, though those machines generated $57.9 million in revenue during 2025. While this comparison does not reflect final profitability over the equipment's entire operating life, it illustrates how rapidly companies must reassess assets acquired only months earlier.

IREN's situation is more striking: the company achieved a hash rate of 50 EH/s by June 2025, yet recorded approximately $695 million in write-offs and asset markdowns in H1 2026, with a substantial portion attributable to mining equipment being repurposed for AI projects.

Write-offs represent an accounting adjustment to asset values rather than immediate cash outflows; however, constructing new data centers and servicing debt require ongoing actual cash expenditure, TheEnergyMag noted. TeraWulf illustrates the dynamic: the company generated approximately $53 million in revenue from HPC capacity leasing in H1 2026, while cash interest expenses totaled $131 million. Although these figures alone do not indicate financial distress—the company maintains other revenue streams and cash reserves—they highlight the gap between new project revenue and debt servicing costs.

Credit availability may present an additional constraint. TheEnergyMag reported that some major banks have grown more selective in financing data center projects. For miners that have already scaled back bitcoin operations, construction or connection delays for new facilities could extend periods of reduced revenue while fixed obligations persist.

Transitioning to AI allows miners to leverage existing facilities and electrical infrastructure for new revenue streams. Yet this shift typically requires equipment replacement and additional capital. The economics ultimately hinge not only on data center revenues but also on equipment salvage values and infrastructure restructuring costs.

Not all write-offs stem from the AI transition. Core Scientific, for instance, attributed a significant portion of asset devaluation to deteriorating bitcoin mining economics. The overall figures thus reflect a broader reassessment of mining investments, not exclusively the cost of shifting to AI, TheEnergyMag specialists noted.

In H1 2026, fourteen public mining and AI infrastructure companies raised $35.09 billion in debt financing, representing nearly 73% of net capital inflows into the sector, according to TheEnergyMag.