Core Scientific Exits Bitcoin Mining by End of 2026 for AI Push

Core Scientific plans to complete its exit from Bitcoin mining by the end of 2026 and enter 2027 as a pure-play provider of high-density data center colocation. CFO Jim Nygaard made the announcement during the company’s third-quarter earnings call, adding a firm deadline to the wind-down of its self-mining and hosted mining operations.

The company’s latest results reflect its transition toward AI and high-performance computing infrastructure. Third-quarter self-mining revenue fell to $12.3 million from $57.4 million a year earlier, while revenue from hosting other miners declined to $5.2 million from $8.7 million. Combined mining revenue totaled $17.5 million, or just 7.5% of Core Scientific’s $232.9 million quarterly revenue, compared with $215.4 million generated by colocation services.

Core Scientific began expanding into AI hosting in 2024 through an initial agreement with CoreWeave, followed by a substantially larger deal that year. By September, the company had nearly 50% fewer miners online than at the end of 2025. It recorded $266.5 million in mining-related asset impairments in the first quarter of 2026 and recognized a $41.9 million loss in the second quarter after terminating a mining equipment agreement with Block and Proto.

The planned pivot positions Core Scientific as an infrastructure provider for AI data centers as Bitcoin mining economics remain under pressure. Its full mining exit will also come amid growing political scrutiny over the energy and grid demands associated with rapid data-center expansion in the United States.