Mining Money Moves: Bitcoin Sale Fuels AI Plans

Cango, a big name in bitcoin mining, sold 4, 451 bitcoins for about $305 million. The money came from a Tether (USDT) sale that helped the company pay off a loan backed by its own bitcoin. This move also lightened Cango’s debt load and gave the firm a cushion to jump into building AI data centers. The sale happened after bitcoin’s price fell sharply from its October peak of roughly $125, 000. Even with the drop, Cango says it will keep mining bitcoins while it grows its AI side. The company’s new AI venture is built on the same kind of power‑hungry, cool‑water infrastructure that mining uses. Other miners are following suit. Firms like IREN, Core Scientific and Riot Platforms have already added AI projects to their portfolios. A few have even left crypto altogether to chase profits from artificial intelligence.It can be hard to tell if a company is truly shifting its focus or just using buzzwords to attract investors. The trend mirrors the 2017‑18 “blockchain hype” wave, when many unrelated businesses claimed their future would be built on the technology. Some of those companies are now leaning into AI instead. Bitcoin’s recent price slide hurts miners because the coins they earn are worth less, and energy costs stay high. A recent snowstorm actually helped some miners by selling excess power back to the grid during a period of low demand. Other startups are looking at ways to use mining rigs as part of home heating systems, turning idle energy into useful heat. The $305 million sale also means Cango is cutting back on a leveraged bitcoin position while the market dips. Other firms that hold large amounts of digital assets, like Strategy and an Ethereum‑focused treasury company, have faced huge unrealized losses. If these companies start selling their holdings en masse, it could push bitcoin prices even lower.