Bitcoin Miners Pivot to AI as MARA Soars 16%, But CoreWeave Stumbles

MARA Holdings jumped 16% in pre-market trading. Block surged 20%. But here's the twist: these aren't bitcoin stories anymore. They're AI infrastructure plays dressed up in crypto clothing.

The latest earnings from crypto miners and fintech companies reveal a sector in transition, where success increasingly depends on pivoting away from the very business that made them famous.

The Great Mining Pivot

MARA Holdings struck a deal with Starwood Capital to convert select bitcoin mining facilities into AI-focused data centers. The partnership expects to deliver 1 gigawatt of capacity near-term, scaling beyond 2.5 gigawatts later.

This isn't an isolated move. Bitfarms, Cipher Digital, and others are following the same playbook. TerraWulf has expanded from one site a year ago to five today, targeting 2.9 gigawatts of gross capacity by year-end.

The logic is compelling: miners already have the power infrastructure that AI desperately needs. Why dig for digital gold when you can rent out the shovels?

Block's Brutal Math

Block took a different approach to investor confidence: mass layoffs. The company announced it will cut more than 40% of its workforce, reducing headcount to about 6,000.

Management framed this as "AI-driven efficiencies," but the reality is more complex. The company faces margin pressure from stablecoin-based payment rails, forcing a retreat to 2019 scale operations.

Yet investors cheered. Block guided Q1 operating income to $600M versus $574M expected and raised full-year gross profit forecasts to $2.8B.

The CoreWeave Reality Check

Not everyone is winning the AI transition. CoreWeave dropped 12% despite beating revenue expectations with $1.57 billion versus $1.53 billion forecast.

The problem? Earnings per share came in at -$0.89 versus -$0.68 expected—a 31% miss. Weaker Q1 revenue guidance and increased capital expenditure plans raised concerns about profitability and cash burn.

CoreWeave's stumble highlights a crucial reality: having AI revenue doesn't automatically mean having AI profits.

The Power Play Behind the Pivot

What's driving this transformation? Simple economics. Bitcoin mining requires massive power infrastructure. AI training and inference require the same thing. As AI demand surges and bitcoin mining margins compress, the pivot makes financial sense.

TerraWulf executives emphasized that "the key story is the ramp in contracted high-performance computing revenue." Translation: we're landlords now, not miners.

Meanwhile, bitcoin itself has remained relatively flat around $67,000, with limited spillover into crypto-related equities. The real action is in AI-linked tokens like Internet Computer, Render, and Bittensor, which benefited from renewed investor interest following Nvidia's earnings.