VanEck: the future of Bitcoin miners is being reshaped by the AI boom

VanEck assessed the future of Bitcoin miners and said the sector faces a financial gap of about $50 billion, as the market increasingly views these companies as infrastructure for AI and HPC. This matters for traders, long-term holders of mining stocks, and anyone following Bitcoin: the old business model no longer explains valuations.

The investment firm’s report says long-term capital expenditures could reach $221 billion. And that is not just a nice number for a presentation. Miners that until yesterday lived almost entirely off BTC mining are now repurposing energy sites for AI clients, where power commands higher prices.

At the same time, the financial results of most players are still not keeping up with this story. That is why the market is nervously repricing not only earnings, but also the very logic used to assess miners.

Why do miners suddenly look like data centers?

VanEck says it plainly: the market is increasingly valuing mining companies not as crypto businesses, but as operators of infrastructure for AI. There is a simple reason for this. Capacity is scarce, and demand for computing is growing faster than new sites are being built.

In the report, the company advises focusing first and foremost on gross energized power, meaning energy capacity already connected to the grid. For valuation, this matters more than polished slides about future projects. If a company has signed agreements, it can be valued at more than 10 times the amount of connected capacity, while players without serious contracts trade at roughly 2-6 times.

In other words, the market is paying not for a promise, but for the chance to quickly bring hardware online and start earning. That is where the main test for miners begins, because construction often lags behind presentations.

What is the market showing now?

VanEck noted that the sector has so far brought into operation only about 25% of the capacity leased to clients. That is a weak spot. If construction timelines slip, valuations of such companies could fall very quickly.

“We expect valuation premiums to shift from companies that have signed contracts to those capable of delivering on time and within budget: signing lease agreements is only the first step,” the VanEck report says.

It is also worth mentioning the broader backdrop. According to the study, on June 17, 2026, BTC was priced at $65,835, and at a price of around $70,000 and a hashprice near $30, many mid-generation fleets were already at or below breakeven. In other words, pressure on traditional mining has not gone away.

Against this backdrop, it is no surprise that investors have started to view energy as the main asset. And that is exactly what is changing the rules of the game for public miners.

• VanEck sees the sector needing about $50 billion in the near term.

• Long-term capital expenditures could reach $221 billion.

• Only about 25% of leased capacity has been brought into operation.

• Companies without major contracts are valued at 2-6 times connected capacity.

• Players with signed agreements receive a more than 10x multiple.

• Those who have already launched facilities also receive a premium.

Who benefits from the AI boom?

VanEck essentially echoed Bernstein’s view: the main bottleneck for AI right now is not chips, but electricity. In their estimates, public miners control more than 27 GW of potential capacity and already have AI-related deals worth more than $90 billion. That is a big number. And it explains why miners are changing course so quickly.

Individual examples show this clearly. After expanding its agreement with CoreWeave in February 2025, Core Scientific received about 590 MW of critical IT load for HPC across 6 sites and more than $10.2 billion in projected revenue over 12 years. And on May 7, 2026, IREN signed a five-year AI-cloud contract with NVIDIA worth about $3.4 billion, to be served by Blackwell systems at around 60 MW in Childress, Texas. In such a race, it is no longer only Bitcoin that matters, but also who can connect the megawatts faster.

There is another nuance as well. When a company takes on large AI contracts, it becomes less like a speculative mining business and more like an infrastructure operator. For investors, that is a different risk story.

What does this mean for investors?

For those holding mining stocks, the main signal is simple: look not only at BTC, but also at contracts, connected capacity, and construction pace. If a company has 440 MW of additional capacity, as after Core Scientific’s deal with Polaris DS LLC for more than $420 million, that is already a material asset. But if the facility exists only on paper, the market cools off quickly.

For Bitcoin holders, the conclusion is a little different. The mining sector no longer lives in isolation. BTC price still pressures profitability, but miner valuations are now increasingly driven by AI deals, access to energy, and the ability to stay on budget and on schedule. That means shares of such companies can move separately from Bitcoin itself, sometimes even in the opposite direction.

And one more practical point for Ukrainian readers. When the market starts repricing infrastructure stories, BTC often reacts less sharply than mining stocks, but the waves still reach the spot market. So for those working with crypto in hryvnias, it is worth watching not only the coin price, but also where the big infrastructure bets are moving. If you need to quickly sell Bitcoin to Monobank, it is convenient to do so exactly at moments like these, when the market does not like to wait long.

Frequently asked questions

Why are Bitcoin miners now linked to AI?

Because they already have the main things data centers need: land, electricity, and grid connections. VanEck writes that the market is increasingly valuing them specifically as operators of infrastructure for AI and HPC, not just as BTC miners.

How much funding does the sector need right now?

According to VanEck’s estimate, the sector is short about $50 billion in the near term. And long-term capital expenditures could reach $221 billion. That is a huge gap between plans and real capabilities.

What matters more for valuing a miner than the Bitcoin price right now?

Connected power capacity, signed contracts, and the speed of launching facilities. VanEck says plainly that the market is willing to pay more for companies that already have agreements and can deliver on time.

While miners debate between BTC and AI, the market is already counting megawatts, contracts, and launch timelines. And that, it seems, will determine their price going forward. Those who want to quickly convert crypto into hryvnias can also sell USDT TRC20 to Monobank without unnecessary steps.

This material is not financial advice. Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks. Part of this text was prepared with the help of artificial intelligence based on public sources and reviewed by our editorial team.