After years of debate in some corners of the crypto industry, Bitcoin and digital assets are on the verge of a long-awaited “supercycle,” typically defined as an extended, structurally driven boom that lasts beyond a normal market cycle.
However, the only development resembling such durable, capital-intensive expansion may be underway in AI infrastructure, according to the latest newsletter from Blockbridge Consulting, which has been rebranded to TheEnergyMag from TheMinerMag.
In the newsletter, analyst Wolfie Zhao described a “trillion-dollar build supercycle” tied to AI data center infrastructure.
While the so-called Magnificent Seven tech giants are projected to spend more than $600 billion combined on AI investments this year, Bitcoin (BTC) mining companies with exposure to AI and high-performance computing are also ramping up capital deployment.
One example is IREN, formerly known as Iris Energy, a Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin miner that has expanded into AI data center infrastructure.
In its most recent quarter, IREN reported about $800 million in net spending on property, plants and equipment. According to TheEnergyMag’s analysis, the company “deployed more capital in a single year, building AI data center infrastructure and procuring GPU hardware than it spent across three years expanding its Bitcoin mining fleet post-IPO.”
Related: Bitcoin mining’s 2026 reckoning: AI pivots, margin pressure and a fight to survive
Bitcoin mining: An industry in transition
IREN is one of several traditional Bitcoin miners that have shifted aggressively into AI and high-performance computing, in part to diversify away from increasingly compressed mining margins. Others pursuing similar strategies include MARA Holdings, Riot Platforms, HIVE Digital Technologies and Bitdeer Technologies.
The past year may have marked one of the most challenging periods for the Bitcoin mining industry, as collapsing revenues collided with rising debt loads. The downturn followed a sharp correction in Bitcoin’s price that began in October 2025. After peaking over $126,000, Bitcoin slid steadily and briefly fell below $60,000 in February.
Bitdeer, which released its fourth quarter 2025 results on Thursday, said the period “marked a strategic inflection point as we accelerated our transition toward high-performance compute infrastructure and colocation services.”
Chief business officer Matt Kong said that the company’s power portfolio will be a strategic asset as “We expect the global AI infrastructure supply / demand imbalance to widen,” according to a statement.
Frank Holmes, CEO of HIVE Digital Technologies, recently outlined why this may be a pivotal moment for miners to expand into AI.
“Bitcoin miners are winning the AI data center arms race,” he wrote in a Forbes column, arguing that large-scale AI facilities take years to build, while miners already control power, land and data center infrastructure that can be repurposed for high-performance computing.
Related: Bitcoin miner production data reveals scale of US winter storm disruption
