You Won’t Believe What This Bitcoin Miner is Doing with AI!

by

So, here’s the deal. Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms—yes, the same company that’s been crunching numbers for crypto—is now flirting with the idea of diversifying into AI and High-Performance Computing (HPC). Because, you know, why stick to one thing when you can spread your bets and maybe, just maybe, look like you’re cutting-edge while everyone else is glued to their screens watching Bitcoin transactions fall to a 12-month low? 🙄

On February 13th (mark your calendars), Riot announced they’re diving headfirst into the AI and HPC sectors. The company’s Corsicana facility in Navarro County, Texas, will now be home to… well, who knows what? CEO Jason Les is all bright-eyed about it: “We are excited to continue advancing our AI/HPC evaluation process as we seek to maximize value for our entire portfolio of assets.” Translation: “If we can’t mine Bitcoin, maybe we can mine some AI ideas.” 🤷‍♂️

In their noble quest to not look irrelevant, Riot’s appointed three fresh faces to their board. We’ve got Jaime Leverton, CEO of Hut 8 Mining (because what better way to understand AI than someone who knows how to mine Bitcoin, right?), Doug Mouton, a former senior engineer at Meta (also known as Facebook for those of us who aren’t up to date with the tech world), and Michael Turner, a real estate investment expert—because obviously, AI and real estate go hand-in-hand. Benjamin Yi, the Executive Chairman, decided to throw in a little pep talk: “Jaime, Doug, and Michael bring complementary expertise to the Board that will be immediately applicable as we continue to assess how best to maximize the value of our unique assets.” Pardon my eye roll. 🙄

But, here’s the kicker. Riot’s own press release says there’s no guarantee that their current assets can even be transformed into AI or HPC infrastructure. So, there’s that. Oh, and negotiating favorable terms for potential partnerships? Yeah, good luck with that, too. It’s basically a whole lot of “maybe we can” and “we’ll see what happens” wrapped in the usual corporate jargon. 😬

Why is Riot even doing this? Well, Bitcoin transactions are slumping, hovering around a 12-month low, according to data from The Block. Miners are like, “Hey, let’s not sit here waiting for something to happen. Let’s start a new trend—AI and HPC are our saviors!”

And guess what? Some other BTC miners are already taking the plunge into AI and HPC, and shocker, they’re actually making money from it. Hut 8 Mining—remember them?—says they pulled in almost 8% of their total revenue from AI and HPC projects in the first three quarters of 2024. So, maybe Riot’s onto something here. But will they end up as the next Hut 8 or just another company scrambling for relevance in a world where everyone’s trying to “innovate”? Stay tuned! 💸

Read More

2025-02-13 11:59