Bitcoin miners are pivoting to new markets and making bank

With a pivot to providing high-performance computing, miners are finding new ways to broaden their revenue stream

article-image

GreenBelka/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Avi Felman says he’s bullish on bitcoin miners, but not strictly because of bitcoin’s potential.

With a pivot to providing high-performance computing, or HPC, companies are finding new ways to broaden their revenue stream beyond ASIC mining.

Hut 8, best known as a bitcoin mining company with facilities in Alberta, Canada and Texas, is a great example, he says. Thanks to its high capacity computing infrastructure, Hut 8 recently signed a contract to provide HPC for clients in Canada’s health sector.

On a recent 1000X podcast (Spotify/Apple), the head of digital asset trading at GoldenTree talks to Cumberland’s Global Head of Trading Jonah Van Bourg about the broadening revenue strategy.

It’s not about the hardware

With the growing potential for more cash flow, one might expect mining companies to pack up their ASICs for greener pastures, leaving the precarious business of crypto mining and its knife-edge profit margins behind.

But it’s not about the chips, Felman says, “it’s a completely different business.”

It’s more about access to the facilities and the people who know the business, Felman says. Cooling, for example, is important in any high capacity computing environment, he says. “In both bitcoin mining and HPC, they have all of that set up.”

“They have the people that know how to build out those services. They have the warehouses and the facilities. They have the power contracts.”

Read more: Do you bleed enough BTC to pay $55 for Brooklyn’s bitcoin spa?

The actual product that is provided to clients, Felman explains, “is radically different and requires a decent amount of upfront investment. But the overall operations are very similar,” he says.

Large-scale mining companies like Hut 8, Iris Energy, Hive and Cipher can repurpose facilities to provide HPC, diversifying the business and generating more revenue, Felman says. “It seems like there’s a tremendous amount of demand.”

A healthier bitcoin market, to boot

Felman clarifies that current ASIC hardware — highly specialized computers designed strictly for bitcoin mining — can not be diverted for the purpose of providing HPC to clients. But the diversification of services provided through their infrastructure and know-how could enable mining companies to be financially “healthier,” he says.

The move could also benefit the market price of bitcoin (BTC), he argues, because miners may be less pressured to sell in fearful markets. The need for mining companies to sell their fresh bitcoin on a regular basis just to survive acts as a constant damper on prices.

“Miners will get liquidated less often as they become better and more robust businesses.” 

Van Bourg adds, “it would make the market healthier, for sure.”

“It would also tell the world,” he says, “crypto has provided a series of infrastructure plays that are relevant outside of just crypto.”

The move indicates the presence of a growing market for “purpose-specific computation facilities,” Van Bourg says. Bitcoin mining technology, he says, “laid the rails for other applications” that can now harness the technology in new ways.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates (1).png

Research

Aave’s revenues have doubled from April lows and are fast approaching all-time highs. With 35% of borrow interest coming from ETH and 55% from stablecoins, Aave is emerging as a powerful proxy as an ETH and stablecoin beta. As looping strategies accelerate growth and Horizon positions the protocol to ride the RWA wave, Aave is shaping up as one of DeFi’s most compelling multi-narrative plays.

article-image

Private testnet aims to deliver low-cost settlement with partners including Visa, Deutsche Bank, and OpenAI

by Blockworks /
article-image

Solana saw $78 million in REV for August

article-image

Lit Protocol’s Vincent is shifting agentic finance from toy demos to production rails

article-image

The new system aims to unify Europe’s fragmented tokenized asset settlement and cut cross-border costs

by Blockworks /
article-image

Tron slashed fees by 60% as Plasma looms, threatening its USDT moat

article-image

The acquisition adds evaluation-based funding to Kraken Pro, giving traders access to capital on performance

by Blockworks /