From MinerFi to ComputeFi: CRWV CoreWeave’s $8.5B #AI GPU loan rewrites the playbook. This isn’t just a “GPU-backed” deal. It’s how Wall Street now wants to finance compute. Back in 2021, #bitcoin miners raised billions with ASIC-backed loans. The idea was simple: Machines → mine BTC → repay debt It worked, until 2022. Then both broke at once: Mining revenue (hashprice) fell and ASIC values dropped. That double hit crushed MinerFi. CoreWeave’s deal starts from the same idea—finance compute hardware. But flips the structure entirely. The key concept: DC Funding Conditions You don’t get the loan just for buying GPUs. You only get it when they are: • Installed • Powered • Operational • Contracted for and accepted by customers That’s why lenders are comfortable with👉 ~90% financing of GPU + deployment costs but only after proving the assets are live and revenue-ready This is the shift: From funding machines → to funding working systems Then comes control. Cash doesn’t flow freely—it follows a strict waterfall: Pay operating costs (power, ops) Pay lenders Only then → equity If performance weakens? 👉 Cash gets trapped inside the system Even the risks are engineered out. • GPUs are tracked and tied to specific sites • Hardware depreciation is baked in • Power costs are managed (hedging, contracts) And last but not least: The project must pass a DSCR test. MinerFi (2021): • Backed by machines • Revenue = volatile ComputeFi (2026): • Backed by systems + contracts • Revenue = modeled + controlled Same idea. Completely different execution.(TheEnergyMag)