Market Update: Why Bitcoin Miners are increasingly turning to AI Bitcoin has recovered significantly from its February low and at times even rose above USD 80,000. In our view, however, it is still too early to sound the all-clear. One important reason is the technical backdrop: Bitcoin is still struggling with the 200-day moving average. In earlier structural downturns, such as in 2014 or 2019, the price did at times manage to reclaim this level. However, those breakouts were not sustained on either occasion.Given the uncertainty in the price picture, explanations are repeatedly being sought within the crypto industry as well. The Bitcoin mining industry is currently an easy target. It is facing falling margins, rising competitive pressure and the growing attractiveness of AI infrastructure. Despite the price rise, the crypto world still appears tense. What is the mood in the industry?Bitcoin’s recent recovery is fundamentally positive. Even so, it should not be interpreted too quickly as the start of a new bullish uptrend. What matters is whether Bitcoin can reclaim the area around the 200-day moving average on a sustained basis.Many market participants regard this level as an important long-term trend filter. As long as Bitcoin remains below it, or only briefly breaks above it, the technical picture stays fragile. That is precisely why sentiment in the crypto industry, despite the recovery, is not euphoric but still cautious.At the same time, a broader strategic shift is becoming visible in the mining industry. Many companies are moving their focus away from pure Bitcoin mining and towards AI and high-performance data centres. This does not change Bitcoin itself, but it does show the economic pressure under which traditional mining business models are operating.Graphic: Bitcoin price since the February low, including the 200-day moving average and the resistance zone around USD 80,000 to USD 85,000 | Source: Checkonchain.comWhat is happening among Bitcoin miners right now?Several well-known Bitcoin mining companies are increasingly redirecting their infrastructure towards artificial intelligence and data centres. One prominent example is MARA Holdings. The US-listed company sold around 20,880 Bitcoin in the first quarter of 2026. That corresponds to a value of roughly USD 1.5 billion.MARA has also indicated investments in new Bitcoin mining infrastructure are not currently a priority. Instead, the company wants to be more selective and allocate capital more heavily where expected returns are most attractive. MARA is not alone in this strategic direction. Other listed mining companies are also examining how they can use power agreements, locations and data centre infrastructure for AI applications. The reason is straightforward: Bitcoin mining is capital-intensive, cyclical and operationally demanding. Falling margins, a rising hashrate, volatile Bitcoin prices and the halving that takes place every four years are increasing the pressure on business models.From the perspective of many miners, the move towards AI is therefore less an ideological departure from Bitcoin and more an economic response. Data centres for AI applications currently promise more stable and potentially higher returns than traditional mining.Infographic: How hashrate, mining difficulty and block time are connected | Source: Generated by ChatGPT What is a Hashrate?Hashrate measures the total computing power that miners provide to the Bitcoin network. Put simply, it shows how many computational attempts are made per second to find the next valid Bitcoin block.A higher hashrate means more computing power is active in the network. This generally strengthens security, because an attack on the network would require correspondingly more computing power.If the hashrate falls, however, that does not automatically mean Bitcoin stops functioning. The network regularly adjusts mining difficulty automatically. The aim is to ensure that a new block continues to be found roughly every ten minutes. How problematic is this? Is Bitcoin under threat as a result?From a structural perspective, this development is not surprising. Bitcoin mining has always been a fiercely competitive business with high turnover. Operators with electricity costs that are too high, inefficient machines or excessive debt quickly come under pressure when Bitcoin prices are lower.For Bitcoin itself, the strategic shift of individual miners is therefore not necessarily problematic. On the contrary, in recent years a significant share of the global hashrate has become concentrated among large listed mining companies. If that concentration becomes more broadly distributed again, it is more in keeping with Bitcoin’s underlying principle and can strengthen the decentralisation of the network.It is also important to note that Bitcoin was built precisely for this kind of change. If miners exit and the hashrate declines, the network automatically adjusts the so-called mining difficulty. This preserves the network’s basic rhythm.The withdrawal of individual listed companies from pure mining is therefore not a systemic risk. It is part of the market mechanism. Capital, electricity and computing power flow to where they can be used most efficiently from an economic perspective. The Bitcoin network itself remains fundamentally independent of this. ConclusionBitcoin’s recent recovery is real, but it has not yet been clearly confirmed. As long as Bitcoin does not reclaim the 200-day moving average on a sustained basis, caution remains warranted.At the same time, the strategic shift among many miners shows that the crypto industry is continuing to professionalise and reposition itself economically. AI infrastructure is currently more attractive to many companies than traditional Bitcoin mining. That is a challenge for individual mining business models. For Bitcoin itself, however, it is not a fundamental problem.The current market picture can therefore be summarised as follows: Bitcoin remains in a technically decisive zone, while the mining industry is being reshaped beneath the surface. For the network, this adjustment is not a rupture, but an expression of its built-in resilience. Important legal informationThis publication is intended for information and marketing purposes only, and does not constitute investment advice or a specific individual investment recommendation. It is not a sales prospectus and does not constitute a request, an offer, or a recommendation to buy or sell investment instruments or investment services, or to engage in any other transaction. Maerki Baumann & Co. AG does not provide legal or tax advice. Investors are therefore advised to obtain independent legal or tax advice concerning the suitability of such investments, since their tax treatment depends on the personal circumstances of the investor in question and is subject to change at any time. Maerki Baumann & Co. AG holds a Swiss banking licence issued by the Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). This publication is expressly not intended for persons domiciled in Germany or so-called U.S. persons. Editorial deadline: 20 May 2026Maerki Baumann & Co. AGDreikönigstrasse 6, CH-8002 ZurichT +41 44 286 25 25, info@maerki-baumann.chwww.maerki-baumann.ch