Hello, y'all. Happy Saturday!
It’s been a crazy week that started with Bitcoin hitting a new all-time high and the much-anticipated US President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Crypto Twitter was busy speculating Trump’s next crypto move and celebrating the latest executive order on national digital assets stockpile for the rest of the week.
They are not the only ones expecting an eventful 2025. Something equally optimistic is brewing in the Bitcoin mining world.
From people busy writing obituaries in 2024 to one where experts predict a great year ahead in 2025, Bitcoin miners have been through a lot in the last few months.
In this week’s Wormhole, we take you through this crazy ride of Bitcoin miners that took them from struggling for survival to thriving on super-efficient business models.
If you want to reach out to 200,000+ subscriber community of the Token Dispatch, you can explore the partnership opportunities with us.
The Great Mining Transformation
In 2025, Bitcoin miners aren't merely surviving – they're about to have their best year yet, said Canaccord Genuity, in their research report.
The cost to mine one Bitcoin? Canaccord predicts it to be around a stable $27,000.
Not bad for an industry that was supposedly "doomed" after the halving in 2024 - the year that saw miners’ profits dwindle due to halving Bitcoin rewards and increasing difficulty.
How did we get here? Let’s rewind a bit.
Back to April 2024, Bitcoin's block rewards got slashed in half, from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. Mining revenues plummeted more than 40%. Many analysts predicted a mass exodus of miners from the industry.
The future looked bleak. Most Bitcoin miners were looking for a way out.
Some looked up to building AI infrastructure and venture into high-performance computing (HPC). Others stacked the sats they mined and built Bitcoin treasuries.
Read: The Bitcoin Mining Dilemma ⛏️
It seemed like the miners were never going to look back at mining. Their monthly revenue averaged less than $900 million for six straight months through October 2024, after starting the year averaging almost $1.5 billion for the first four months.
Cut to January 2025: The miners have started the year with three back-to-back months of improving revenues.
What exactly happened?
One of the most underrated transformations in the crypto history.
The Trump Impact
The euphoria of a pro-crypto Trump administration at the White House drove up Bitcoin 35% to $93K from $69K in a week.
This meant better revenue for the Bitcoin the miners were mining.
Mining revenues grew 24% in Nov despite halved rewards
Network hashrate rose 6% to 779 EH/s in Dec
Combined market cap of 14 BTC miners at $36.2 Bn in Nov, up 52% from Oct
TeraWulf stock up ~50% in three days after Trump’s re-election
Beyond the Trump effect, there was more. Miners weren't just mining anymore.
From converting mining rigs into AI powerhouses to building Bitcoin treasuries that would make Michael Saylor proud, miners started writing a diverse comeback story.
They not only adapted, but revolutionised their entire business model.
Upgrade to paid to get full access to our weekly premium features (HashedIn, Wormhole, Rabbit hole and Mempool) and subscribers only posts. 2025 New Year special limited time offer - 38% off on our annual subscription.
Evolving Business Models
The Treasury Strategy
Remember MicroStrategy's Bitcoin treasury strategy? Miners took that playbook and supercharged it. MARA Holdings now sits on 44,893 BTC worth $4.68 billion.
Beyond hoarding Bitcoin, these miners are also becoming sophisticated Bitcoin banks. MARA now lends out nearly 16% of its holdings for "modest single-digit yields." That's 7,377 BTC (~$730 million) generating passive income.
"As a miner that mines and buys bitcoin, the hybrid approach provides us significant flexibility. We're not just miners anymore - we're Bitcoin infrastructure companies," explains Fred Thiel, MARA's CEO.
The strategy is spreading. Four of the 16 largest Bitcoin holders are now mining companies. CleanSpark, Riot, and Hut 8 have all followed suit, using borrowed funds to expand their treasuries.
Zero-Interest Strategy
Some miners leveraged the MicroStrategy’s debt playbook to tackle dwindling profits by building Bitcoin stockpile and benefitting from its price rise.
US miners raised $3.7 billion through zero or near-zero interest convertible notes in 2024. The strategy? Borrow cheap, stack Bitcoin, watch the premium grow.
Read: Corporates Opt Debt To Buy Bitcoin 🛒
Meanwhile, some miners have diversified beyond mining and stacking Bitcoin.
The AI Gambit
When Core Scientific signed that 12-year deal with CoreWeave, many dismissed it as a desperate diversification attempt. They couldn't have been more wrong.
The economics are staggering.
Revenue in AI tasks: $2 per hour per GPU
Revenue in Crypto mining: $0.12 per hour
That's a 16x improvement in revenue.
Other miners who took to AI and HPC also benefitted from the move.
Hut 8: 8% of revenue from HPC/AI in Q1-Q3 2024
Hive Digital: 7% of its revenue from AI initiatives
Core Scientific: Expanding AI partnerships
Are these strategies working? Read on …
Choose the Right Ledger Wallet for You
Ledger wallet comes with key features to ensure accessibility and security for you wallet. With Ledger live app you can manage and stake your digital assets, all from one place. Ledger recover helps to restore access to your crypto wallet in case of a lost, damaged, or out of reach Secret Recovery Phrase.
The Validation
The market is rewarding this transformation. Bitcoin miners not only survived - but also outperformed Bitcoin itself.
If you had invested equivalent of 1 BTC (around $42,000) on January 1, 2024, in Bitcoin, and an equal amount in a hypothetical Bitcoin Miners’ Index, you would end the year with $98,211 in Bitcoin, as against $176,627 in Bitcoin miner stocks.
That’s more than 75% better returns on miner stocks over Bitcoin.
The index mostly underperformed in the first half of the year, but as the hashrate increased, the mining stocks recovered and overtook Bitcoin in the second half.
That’s not all. The strongest validation comes from the Wall Street itself.
MARA Holdings now boasts 678 institutional owners with over $5.2 billion in institutional capital. Core Scientific's institutional ownership hits 60.44% - higher than many traditional tech stocks.
The Number Game
Over 40% of shares in major miners now held by institutions
Core Scientific added 188 new institutional investors in one quarter
Larger miners have become the preferred choice for institutions due to their established reputations, broader analyst coverage, and higher trading liquidity, reveals the report.
Challenges Ahead
While miners' reinvention is impressive, 2025 brings its own set of hurdles. The Bitcoin network hashrate is projected to surpass 1 Zetahash for the first time in history.
This explosive growth comes with a price tag. Before the halving, hashprice stood at $103/PH/day. To return to these pre-halving levels, Bitcoin would need to exceed $200,000 in 6 months and surpass $300,000 in 18 months.
It's a tall order, even in a bull market.
AI is definitely making the impossible seem achievable, but hardware improvements bring their own challenges.
Core Scientific's Russell Cann notes, "AI's growing energy demand will make it harder for Bitcoin miners to expand operations in the US."
This energy squeeze is forcing a strategic rethink.
MARA Holdings plans to relocate 50% of its operations overseas by 2028, targeting energy-surplus regions like Kenya and UAE.
They're not alone.
Belarus actively courting displaced US miners
Paraguay emerging as a new mining hub despite initial setbacks
Global expansion becoming a necessity, not just an option
Token Dispatch View 🔍
The Bitcoin mining saga of 2024-25 is a masterclass in business evolution.
When rewards were halved and critics wrote obituaries, miners fundamentally reimagined what a mining company could be.
These aren't the same companies that once lived and died by hashrate alone.
Today's miners are sophisticated financial players who've turned adversity into opportunity through three key innovations: Bitcoin banking (lending out their holdings), AI integration (turning GPU farms into profit centres), and zero-interest financing (the MicroStrategy playbook).
Wall Street's validation - through billions of dollars in institutional investments, despite ETFs being around - suggests this transformation isn't just smoke and mirrors.
But 2025's challenges are formidable.
The path to 1 Zetahash won't be smooth, and the energy war with AI companies has only begun.
Smart miners are already plotting their next move - whether it's exploring energy-rich frontiers in Kenya and UAE or pushing hardware innovation to new limits.
The winners of 2025 may be determined by their ability to balance multiple revenue streams while navigating an increasingly complex landscape.
For investors watching this space, beyond tracking difficulty adjustments and Bitcoin's price - it's key to understand who's building the most resilient business model for crypto's next chapter.
Token Dispatch is a daily crypto newsletter handpicked and crafted with love by human bots. You can find all about us here 🙌
Disclaimer: This newsletter contains sponsored content and affiliate links. All sponsored content is clearly marked. Opinions expressed by sponsors or in sponsored content are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of this newsletter or its authors. We may receive compensation from featured products/services. Content is for informational purposes only, not financial advice. Trading crypto involves substantial risk - your capital is at risk. Do your own research.
HUT had staking horse bid for four natural gas power plants … so after merge they offer BTC mining, managed services, data center, AI, and energy now
https://hut8.com/2024/01/08/hut-8-receives-court-approval-in-its-stalking-horse-bid-for-four-natural-gas-power-plants-including-the-north-bay-bitcoin-mine/