The buzz in the world of cryptocurrency revolves around the flurry of merger and acquisition activities gaining momentum. The driving force behind this trend is the integration of artificial intelligence technologies.

Bitcoin mining companies have emerged as key players with their expansive data centers equipped with high-speed fiber connections and substantial power capacities spread across the United States. These facilities are tailor-made for supporting compute-intensive artificial intelligence operations, making them prime assets in the eyes of AI industry players.

Post the bitcoin halving event in April, which occurs roughly every four years, the dynamics of generating new tokens have shifted. The reduced profitability post-halving has prompted bitcoin miners to explore new avenues for sustaining their businesses. According to analysts at JPMorgan Chase, the recent block reward halving has considerably slashed industry revenues, leading some operators to consider exit strategies.

Amidst a burgeoning demand for data capacity in the AI sector and the quest of bitcoin miners to diversify their revenue streams, a wave of mergers, financings, and partnerships is sweeping across the cryptocurrency landscape.

In a significant move, U.S.-based bitcoin miner Core Scientific unveiled an expanded partnership with CoreWeave, a startup backed by Nvidia, a prominent chipmaker supporting AI operations. Core Scientific plans to provide 70 megawatts of computing infrastructure to bolster CoreWeave’s AI initiatives, projecting an additional $1.2 billion in revenue over the next 12 years on top of an existing $3.5 billion arrangement. By mid-2025, Core Scientific aims to deliver around 270 megawatts of infrastructure to CoreWeave, with room for potential expansion to an extra 230 megawatts at other Core Scientific sites.

CoreWeave recently attempted to acquire Core Scientific for $1.02 billion, shortly after their initial agreement. However, Core Scientific turned down the offer. Following its return to the public market earlier this year post-bankruptcy, Core Scientific currently holds an approximate valuation of $1.8 billion.

Revolutionizing Operations: Bit Digital’s Strategic Move

Bit Digital, a key player in bitcoin mining, has diversified its revenue streams by embracing artificial intelligence, which now accounts for around 27% of its income. The company recently inked a deal with a client to supply 2,048 Nvidia GPUs over a three-year period, doubling its processing capacities for the said client.

To fulfill its contractual obligations, Bit Digital has placed an order for 256 servers from Dell Technologies, set to be deployed at a data center in Iceland. The deal is projected to yield an annual revenue of $92 million. To finance this venture, Bit Digital plans to utilize a mix of cash and digital assets from its balance sheet.

The company has also adopted a sale-leaseback strategy for half of the new GPUs, which helps reduce its capital outlay. Through this arrangement, another entity owns the GPUs, leasing them back to Bit Digital to generate revenue by offering the technology to clients.

Robinhood’s Strategic Acquisition: Bitstamp Deal

Despite most recent crypto deals revolving around mining firms, there have been exceptions that stand out. Robinhood, a renowned trading platform, recently announced a deal to acquire Bitstamp, a Luxembourg-based crypto exchange, for an estimated $200 million in cash.

With Bitstamp holding active licenses and registrations in over 50 countries worldwide and enjoying popularity in Europe and Asia, this acquisition is poised to enhance Robinhood’s crypto operations, positioning it strongly against competitors like Binance and Coinbase. The deal, slated for closure next year, comes at a critical juncture as Robinhood faces regulatory challenges in the U.S. regarding its crypto activities, with the Securities and Exchange Commission also engaging with Coinbase and Binance on similar grounds.

Robinhood closed the first quarter with $4.7 billion in cash reserves and equivalents, marking an impressive 75% surge in its stock value this year.