MARA CEO: AI power use delivers far higher returns than Bitcoin mining, with crypto miners’ future core competitiveness shifting to power resources.

Fred Thiel, CEO of MARA Holdings, stated that revenue generated from using electricity for AI infrastructure is far higher than that from Bitcoin mining, making power resources the most critical strategic asset for mining firms. He said: “For every unit of electricity used, the returns from AI are significantly higher than those from Bitcoin mining.” Thiel pointed out that as Bitcoin halvings continue to compress mining revenues, and electricity remains the largest operating cost for mining companies, firms must secure power resources or form close partnerships with utilities to stay competitive. MARA has partnered with Starwood to build a roughly 1GW computing power platform, with plans to expand further to 2.5GW; this month, the company also announced the acquisition of a Texas campus with approximately 2GW of power access capacity for developing digital infrastructure. However, Thiel emphasized that AI will not completely replace Bitcoin mining. In regions with low-cost, idle, or surplus power, Bitcoin mining remains an important method to boost power utilization rates. He believes that in the future, for mining firms with grid access and developable land, Bitcoin mining will become one of the uses for power resources, rather than the sole purpose.