Bitdeer’s complete liquidation of all its Bitcoin positions is nothing but a revelation of the true face of the mining industry. Last year, they held up to 2,400 BTC, now it’s been reduced to zero. So why this decision?

Actually, it’s simple: mining companies are not believers in Bitcoin, they are energy arbitrageurs. According to a report by blockchain research firm Messari’s analyst Tom Dunleavy, between January and November 2025, 10 major listed mining companies like Core Scientific, Riot, Marathon, Hut 8 extracted a total of 40,700 BTC, while selling 40,300 BTC in the same period. The sale rate is nearly 99%. In other words, these companies have never truly accumulated crypto. As long as Bitcoin’s price is rising, the story of holding is well-promoted, but when prices fall, survival instincts kick in.

Currently, the industry is hit with a triple blow. First, the 2024 halving reduced the block reward by half—directly halving miners’ per-unit production, but electricity bills, machine depreciation, and maintenance costs remained the same. Many mining operations are approaching break-even prices at current BTC prices. Even worse, miners are constantly forced to sell the newly mined Bitcoin, creating a structural downward pressure on prices.

Second, there are clear issues in financial reporting. Looking at the 2025 annual reports, it’s evident that while revenues increased, losses also grew almost everywhere. MARA Holdings’ revenue rose from $6.56 billion to $9.07 billion, but net loss reached $13.1 billion. Hut 8’s revenue increased from $1.62 billion to $2.35 billion, but net loss shifted from $3.31 billion to $2.48 billion. TeraWulf’s revenue grew from $1.4 billion to $1.69 billion, but earnings per share loss widened from $0.21 to $1.66. Fluctuations in the fair value of crypto assets directly impact income statements. Companies are still financing their transformation with debt—Hut 8 launched a $10 billion ATM program, Cipher Digital completed three financings totaling $37.3 billion.

Third, macroeconomic conditions are delivering another blow. Trump is increasing global tariffs, geopolitical uncertainties continue to rise, and Bitcoin dropped below $65,000. According to crypto analysis firm QCP, Bitcoin’s price is significantly below the average mining cost. Maintaining liquidity before mining is no longer a strategic choice but a reality constraint.

Under these pressures, the only way out for mining companies is to create new revenue streams using Bitcoin mining infrastructure. AI and high-performance computing (HPC) have become collective moves in this industry. The logic is clear—mining companies have cheap electricity contracts and scalable data center land, two of the most resource-scarce assets for AI infrastructure. Replacing low-margin mining power with high-margin AI compute leasing looks profitable on paper.

Bitdeer is rapidly advancing its own Sealminer devices and AI cloud services. It announced its transformation by changing the Cipher brand from Mining to Digital. Many companies are competing for long-term, low-cost electricity contracts. But real progress is much slower than the story suggests. TeraWulf’s Q4 HPC revenue is only $970 million—less than 30% of the total $3.58 billion revenue, and it’s significantly down from Q3. Gaining AI clients, signing contracts, and expanding capacity take time, but debt burdens and share dilution happen instantly.

Interestingly, while BTC drops over 17% monthly, several mining companies’ stocks moved inversely. TeraWulf rose 31% during the month, Cipher 8%, Hut 8 6%. This independence reflects a reassessment in the capital markets—these companies are now seen not as leverage tools for Bitcoin prices but as potential carriers of AI compute infrastructure.

In the future, valuation criteria will change. It will no longer matter who owns how many BTC, but who has locked in the longest-term, low-cost electricity, and which companies’ data center assets are best suited for AI transformation and can weather balance sheet challenges. Mining companies are never the most faithful believers in Bitcoin—they are the most rational participants. They mine when profitable, hold when it supports valuation, and sell without hesitation when the proceeds are needed for transformation. That’s the fundamental logic of this trade.