Bitcoin mining is starting to connect with the fast growing AI industry in a new way.
Anthropic has signed a 20 year deal with Riot Platforms for 191 megawatts of computing power at Riot's site in Rockdale Texas.
The deal could bring around $9.1 billion in revenue over the full term.
There are also two possible five year extensions. If both are used then the total value could rise to around $16.1 billion.
This is a big change for a company that has been known mainly for Bitcoin mining.
Riot plans to provide the power in two stages.
The first 96 megawatts are expected to be ready by December 2027.
The remaining 95 megawatts are expected by June 2028.
The deal shows why Bitcoin mining sites are becoming interesting to AI companies.
Bitcoin miners already have something that AI data centers need badly.
They have access to large amounts of power and land.
AI companies need huge amounts of electricity to run powerful computers and support growing demand for AI services.
This means some Bitcoin mining sites could find another use beyond mining Bitcoin.
Riot is already moving in this direction.
Its Rockdale site now has around 241 megawatts of contracted capacity when its earlier agreement with AMD is included.
Together the deals could provide Riot with around $9.8 billion in long term contracted revenue.
The news also had a strong effect on Riot shares.
Several major Wall Street firms raised their price targets after the deal became public.
This shows that investors are starting to see Bitcoin mining companies in a different way.
They may not only be Bitcoin miners anymore.
They could also become large data center operators for AI companies.
That could change how these businesses are valued.
One major research firm now expects most of Riot's value to come from AI data center activity rather than Bitcoin mining.
The shift is important because Bitcoin mining can be very sensitive to the price of BTC and mining costs.
Long term AI contracts can offer a different type of income.
But Riot still faces challenges.
The company reported a net loss of around $237 million for the quarter.
Its revenue increased to about $174 million but the business still ended the period with a large loss.
Bitcoin mining remained its biggest source of revenue during the quarter.
The Anthropic deal could slowly change that balance in the coming years.
This trend is not limited to Riot.
Other Bitcoin mining companies are also making deals with AI firms.
The reason is simple.
AI needs power.
Bitcoin miners already control locations with large power connections.
Instead of using all that capacity for mining Bitcoin they can also use it for AI computing.
This could create a new business model for the mining industry.
Bitcoin miners may become part of the growing AI data center market.
For Bitcoin itself this trend is also worth watching.
If mining companies earn more money from AI then they may become less dependent on Bitcoin mining revenue.
That could change how these companies manage their Bitcoin holdings and mining operations.
The bigger story is clear.
AI and Bitcoin mining are becoming connected through power.
The companies that already control large energy sites could have a valuable role in the next stage of AI growth.