Bloomberg: AI companies are competing with Bitcoin miners for power supply

According to Bloomberg, artificial intelligence (AI) companies have significantly surpassed cryptocurrency mining enterprises in data center energy demand, becoming the new dominant force in the global electricity market. AI tech giants are willing to purchase electricity at prices up to three times higher than Bitcoin miners to support their data centers. This intense competition is forcing Bitcoin miners towards marginal or intermittent power resources.

Fred Thiel, CEO of MAR Holdings, stated that the cost of electricity paid by AI companies far exceeds that of crypto miners, putting the latter under survival pressure. For example, his company recently purchased a wind farm in Texas to maintain operations but such power supply is not stable. In addition, disadvantages in loan default rates and financing costs make power suppliers more inclined to cooperate with tech giants.

It's worth noting that recent surge in Bitcoin price breaking through $100k may slow down the trend of miner's data centers being acquired. However, industry experts predict that Bitcoin miners will be further pushed into marginal markets unable to meet AI's power demands like inefficient power facilities in remote areas. This competitive situation indicates significant changes happening within energy demand patterns for both AI and crypto industries while revealing relative weaknesses of miners on technological and capital capabilities.