MARA CEO Fred Thiel Says Bitcoin Miner Is Shifting Energy Strategy Toward AI Data Centers
Key Takeaways
- •MARA has more than 4 gigawatts of energy capacity and plans to keep mining Bitcoin until sites are converted for AI data center use.
- •The April 2024 Bitcoin halving reduced block rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC, increasing pressure on miners to diversify revenue.
- •Thiel said AI data centers can generate significantly more revenue per unit of electricity than Bitcoin mining.
- •MARA sold approximately 20,000 Bitcoin from its reserves to repay discounted bonds and reduce debt.
- •Thiel said Bitcoin’s lack of yield is its main weakness and described it as more likely to act as an inflation-linked store of value absent major crises.
Fred Thiel, CEO of MARA, one of the world's largest publicly traded Bitcoin mining companies, discussed cryptocurrency mining, Bitcoin's future, and the company's strategy for moving toward artificial intelligence (AI) data centers during an appearance on journalist Natalie Brunell's Coin Stories program.
A central topic in the interview was the growing shift by Bitcoin miners toward using their energy infrastructure for AI data centers. The trend has gained momentum across the mining sector following the April 2024 Bitcoin halving, which cut block rewards from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC and intensified pressure on miners to diversify revenue streams. Companies including Core Scientific, Hut 8, and Iris Energy have also announced AI or high-performance computing partnerships. Thiel said AI data centers can generate significantly higher revenue for each unit of electricity consumed than Bitcoin mining.
Thiel said MARA has more than 4 gigawatts (GW) of energy capacity and plans to continue mining Bitcoin at its facilities until the infrastructure is converted for AI data center use. He added that the two business lines can be managed together with flexibility during the transition.
"Your biggest cost item is electricity. AI companies pay much more per electron compared to mining. But we can continue mining Bitcoin until the electricity is transferred to the data center."
Thiel said he has not lost confidence in Bitcoin, but has reframed how he views the asset. He described Bitcoin's lack of yield as its biggest weakness as an asset. According to Thiel, unless geopolitical crises or severe inflationary pressures emerge, Bitcoin is more likely to function as a balanced store of value indexed to inflation than to experience "unrealistic" extreme price increases.
Addressing MARA's sale of approximately 20,000 Bitcoin from its reserves, Thiel said the company is not a "digital asset treasury company." He said holding Bitcoin is treated as part of MARA's cash management strategy. The proceeds from the sale were used to repay discounted bonds and reduce the company's debt burden. The move reflects a broader deleveraging approach among publicly traded miners seeking to strengthen balance sheets amid compressed post-halving margins.