Author | TheEnergyMag

Translation | Wu Says Blockchain

TL;DR:

· In the first half of 2026, publicly listed mining companies' actual computing power decreased by about 56 EH/s, some electricity was redirected to AI/HPC; revenue related to this grew by 52% quarter over quarter in the second quarter.

· The median revenue per megawatt hour for HPC hosting is about $175, close to the latest generation of Bitcoin mining machines; AI cloud services, however, are around $941, with significantly higher revenue.

· Revenue from Zcash mining is approximately $586 per megawatt hour, having exceeded $700 just over a week ago, but the volatility is much higher than that of long-term contracted HPC hosting services.

· The revenue potential for mining companies turning to AI is considerable, but capital expenditures are enormous, with 14 companies investing $18.6 billion in a single quarter, and only some companies able to achieve ideal returns.

Bitcoin mining companies shut down massively in the second quarter, appearing to surrender, but that is not the case.

According to TheEnergyMag's analysis of publicly listed mining companies, in the first half of 2026, these companies are expected to see a reduction in actual computing power of 56 EH/s, a decline of 15%, higher than the overarching Bitcoin network's decline of 10%. A significant amount of electricity has not completely exited the computing power sector but has been redirected to AI infrastructure transformation.

This change is already reflected in financial statements. Among comparable mining companies, HPC and AI business revenues directly disclosed grew by 52% compared to the first quarter. For the companies making the fastest transition, the second quarter marked the first time that HPC hosting or AI cloud business revenue surpassed their shrinking Bitcoin mining revenues.

The costs of transformation are high. Previously, an analysis by Miner Weekly tracked about $30 billion in capital expenditures among publicly listed mining companies and AI peers. PwC currently estimates that by 2050, broader AI data center construction may require an investment of $31.6 trillion.

In a recent comparison by TheEnergyMag of the 14 companies, $18.6 billion was spent within the same quarter. Among the six infrastructure providers that have continuously disclosed HPC revenue, total capital expenditures across companies are nearly 15 times the aggregate revenue of the same period.

The vast gap between capital expenditures and revenue raises the core questions of this article:

How much revenue can AI power generation create per megawatt hour? How does it compare to current digital asset mining computing power?

TheEnergyMag estimates that among six comparable AI-powered infrastructure providers, their sustainable HPC revenue is about $86 to $300 per megawatt hour, with a median of approximately $180.

The figures above are derived from sustainable HPC, hosting, or base rent revenue divided by estimated billable electricity quantities. When distinguishable, renovation compensation and construction-related revenues have been excluded.

These estimates are sensitive to operational time. A facility delivered halfway through the quarter cannot be considered continuously operating for the entire 91 days. Furthermore, straight-line lease accounting may also recognize revenue before actual cash collection.

Despite these limitations, companies operating in a landlord-like model still concentrate their revenue in a relatively narrow range of approximately $140 to $200 per megawatt hour.

When a company sells not power space but computing power services, its business model changes.

CoreWeave (NASDAQ: CRWV) invested $6.42 billion in that quarter. Based on its data center revenue costs and estimated actual operating power, we calculate its hosting costs to be about $322 per megawatt hour; depending on different assumptions about capacity ramp-up speed, this cost range is between $268 and $403 per megawatt hour.

This cost covers far more than the rent charged by data center owners. It also explains why new cloud service providers can spend over $300 per megawatt hour on infrastructure, while mining companies transitioning to data center owners initially only recognize $150 to $200 in revenue per megawatt hour.

Full-stack operators disclose higher revenues. IREN's AI cloud business revenue is estimated at about $807 per megawatt hour, HIVE at around $924, WhiteFiber at $958, and Bitdeer (NASDAQ: BTDR) is about $1,213.

These figures cannot be directly compared to rent revenue, as they also include values from GPU, networking, software, and computing power scheduling services. At the same time, computing power utilization rates and hardware obsolescence risks are borne by the operator. Bitdeer particularly clearly reflects this distinction: its AI cloud business's unit electricity revenue is the highest in this group, but the costs disclosed for this business segment exceed the revenue.

How does this compare to Bitcoin mining?

Even so, revenue levels for AI cloud services are still significantly higher. The estimated revenue median per megawatt hour is $940.74, which is more than five times the $179.13 revenue per megawatt hour generated by Bitmain's latest generation mining machine Antminer S23 Hyd., and more than eight times the $113.45 revenue per megawatt hour from the S21 Pro.

More importantly, is the comparison between Bitcoin mining and HPC hosting services. TheEnergyMag estimates that the median revenue per megawatt hour for HPC hosting services is $174.90, which is nearly identical to the current mining revenue of S23 Hyd. However, the underlying economic models of the two are completely different: hosting revenues are usually locked in through multi-year contracts, and electricity costs may also be borne by clients; while Bitcoin mining revenues fluctuate with Bitcoin prices, network difficulty, and transaction fees.

Revenue levels for Zcash mining sit between the two. The Z15 Pro, rated at 840 KSol/s with a power consumption of 2.78 kW, is currently estimated to generate $585.61 revenue per megawatt hour, about three times that of S23 Hyd.'s unit electricity revenue, but with significantly higher volatility. Just over a week ago, Zcash mining revenue exceeded $700 per megawatt hour.

This means that the unit electricity revenue for Zcash mining is about 3.3 times that of HPC, and 4.5 times that of the latest generation Bitcoin mining machines.

— — TheEnergyMag, August 24, 2026

This results in Zcash mining's unit electricity revenue temporarily exceeding that of most HPC hosting protocols, comparable to lower levels of GPU cloud service revenues.

But the word "temporarily" here is crucial. Mining companies can quickly deploy ASIC miners and sell mining output in a liquid market, but related revenues can also drop significantly overnight. HPC parks may require years of continuous capital input and construction, but once good-credit tenants are introduced, they can secure contract revenues for ten years or more.

Revenue per megawatt hour explains why mining companies wish to attract AI tenants, while capital expenditures determine why only some mining companies can achieve substantial returns.