CleanSpark, the Las Vegas bitcoin miner, is now constructing AI knowledge facilities alongside its mining operations.
The corporate is shifting into synthetic intelligence infrastructure whereas nonetheless working its bitcoin enterprise.
The CEO defined the plan on CNBC’s “Crypto World” and mentioned this mannequin will seemingly grow to be frequent amongst miners. CleanSpark just lately gained a 100‑megawatt web site in Cheyenne, Wyoming, beating Microsoft for the contract.
The CEO mentioned the deciding issue was velocity. CleanSpark constructed a 100‑megawatt mining web site in about six months, whereas constructing a full AI knowledge heart can take between three and 6 years.
“We have been in a position to scale up and deploy 100 megawatt bitcoin mining facility in about six months,” CEO Matt Schultz mentioned. “Actually, Cheyenne didn’t choose CleanSpark as a result of we had a stronger steadiness sheet than Microsoft.”
The corporate as soon as operated as an power agency earlier than shifting to bitcoin mining 5 years in the past. Schultz mentioned this pivot brings the corporate again to its roots as a result of the competitors now revolves round entry to energy.
CleanSpark at present operates 1.03 gigawatts of energetic services and has 1.7 gigawatts deliberate. Schultz described the mannequin as “monetizing megawatts,” utilizing bitcoin mining to scale energy infrastructure quick, after which changing chosen areas into excessive‑efficiency computing for AI the place it is sensible.
He mentioned bitcoin miners can construct and energize knowledge facilities shortly, however energy entry is the primary barrier for everybody within the area.
CleanSpark expands into AI campuses
CleanSpark introduced a partnership with Submer, a knowledge heart engineering firm, to develop AI‑centered campuses throughout North America. The plan combines CleanSpark’s power and land property with Submer’s liquid‑cooled, excessive‑density techniques.
Schultz mentioned, “We’re positioned to ship AI capability at gigawatt scale, sooner, cleaner, and extra effectively than conventional approaches.” He mentioned the objective is to show CleanSpark’s infrastructure platform into the spine of the following part of computing.
One area Schultz pointed to as a rising AI cluster is Atlanta, which he described as second solely to Northern Virginia on the East Coast for knowledge heart improvement.
Working AI fashions consumes giant quantities of energy. Corporations like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are spending closely on new knowledge facilities and signing offers with utilities to construct new nuclear reactors or restart previous ones.
Even with that spending, most of the new tasks face lengthy delays connecting to the grid. Schultz mentioned, “Hyperscalers are spending 60% of their free money stream on capex to try to sustain with AI.”
He added that miners already management what’s hardest to safe: land, substations, and direct entry to electrical energy.
Crypto margins tighten as twin‑observe mannequin grows
Shares of CleanSpark are up greater than 100% this yr. The shift to AI helps offset tighter bitcoin mining earnings after the April halving lower block rewards by half.
CleanSpark reported $198.6 million in income within the third quarter of fiscal 2025, up practically 91% yr over yr, and holds 12,703 bitcoin in its treasury.
Schultz mentioned the AI transfer doesn’t exchange crypto earnings. “It’s [bitcoin mining] a terrific a part of our enterprise,” he mentioned.
CleanSpark’s energy mannequin permits it to close down mining operations throughout grid stress and push energy again to utilities, one thing AI facilities can’t simply do.
Schultz mentioned mixing mining with AI offers utilities flexibility. Throughout hurricane Helene in Georgia, CleanSpark powered down and redirected power. “The lights got here again on on the hospital inside an hour,” he mentioned.
