Core Scientific to Exit Bitcoin Mining by End of 2026

Core Scientific Confirms Definitive Timeline for Bitcoin Mining Exit

Data infrastructure operator Core Scientific announced during its third-quarter earnings call that it will conclude the wind-down of its cryptocurrency mining operations before the end of 2026. The move cements the company’s full strategic pivot toward becoming a pure-play, high-density colocation provider dedicated to artificial intelligence and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads by 2027. Management affirmed the shift in explicit terms to shareholders. Chief Executive Adam Sullivan underscored the firm’s schedule, stating that the company expects to “complete our exit from Bitcoin ($BTC) mining by year end.” Reinforcing the operational trajectory, Chief Financial Officer Jim Nygaard noted that Core Scientific expects to “complete the wind-down during the fourth quarter.”

The firm’s third-quarter financial filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reveals how comprehensively the operational transformation has progressed. Digital asset self-mining generated $12.3 million in revenue during the quarter ending September 30—marking a steep drop of approximately 79% from the $57.4 million generated during the same period the previous year. Additionally, self-mining recorded a $7.5 million gross loss, while third-party hosted mining contributed an ancillary $5.2 million. The internal restructuring requires no external action from retail or institutional Bitcoin holders, even as the announcement arrived during a broader 4.7% single-day retreat in the price of Bitcoin.

Colocation Revenue and Margin Expansion Replace Legacy Fleet

As legacy mining operations wind down, high-density colocation has become the primary financial engine for Core Scientific. Colocation revenue surged nearly 60% compared to the second quarter, hitting $215.4 million. In total, colocation accounted for approximately 92% of the company’s $232.9 million in aggregate third-quarter revenue. The segment demonstrated significant operational profitability, yielding $128.4 million in gross profit at a 60% gross margin. This shift propelled adjusted EBITDA to $133.6 million—more than three times the figure reported in the prior quarter—with adjusted EBITDA margins widening from 25% to 57%.

The financial turnaround is mirrored on the operational floor, where Core Scientific is aggressively decommissioning specialized mining hardware to free up resources. Nygaard revealed that the company was running close to 50% fewer ASIC mining rigs at the end of September than it operated at the close of 2025. Available electrical power and physical floor space are actively being reallocated to support multi-year enterprise contracts for enterprise AI compute. Core Scientific investor materials emphasize that this systematic conversion of electrical and site infrastructure will proceed “as circumstances allow.”

Contracted Capacity Grows Across CoreWeave and AMD Partnerships

The economics underpinning Core Scientific’s digital transformation rely on massive contracted power agreements. As of the end of the third quarter, Core Scientific was actively billing 485 megawatts (MW) of colocation capacity—an increase of 90 MW achieved during the quarter alone. Under GAAP accounting rules, that currently billing capacity represents an average annualized colocation revenue run rate exceeding $700 million. Expansion plans remain well on schedule, with the remaining roughly 100 MW of an infrastructure buildout dedicated to CoreWeave currently in the commissioning phase. Sullivan confirmed that this remaining block is slated to begin generating revenue over the next few months, bringing the total contracted CoreWeave commitment to 590 MW.

In addition to its CoreWeave agreement, Core Scientific holds a 530 MW compute arrangement supported by AMD spanning five data center campuses. Deliveries under the AMD agreement are scheduled to initiate during the first half of 2027, with full deployment targeted by the end of 2028. Taken together, the CoreWeave and AMD partnerships account for approximately 1.1 gigawatts of critical power capacity. Management projects that once the combined 1.1-gigawatt portfolio is fully delivered and billing, it will generate an average annual run-rate revenue of $1.8 billion alongside $1.6 billion in net operating income.

Why This Matters

Core Scientific’s complete abandonment of digital asset mining represents one of the most substantial strategic repositionings in the high-density computing sector. While crypto mining exposes operators to extreme asset price volatility and narrowing halving economics, long-term AI colocation contracts provide predictable, high-margin, contracted recurring revenue. By repurposing massive electrical substation capacity and data center real estate for tier-one compute clients like AMD and CoreWeave, Core Scientific is addressing the acute, global supply shortage of energized data center space required to train and deploy advanced artificial intelligence models.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will Core Scientific cease all Bitcoin mining operations?

Core Scientific management confirmed that the company will finalize its exit from Bitcoin mining during the fourth quarter of 2026, entering 2027 exclusively as a pure-play high-density colocation provider.

How much revenue is Core Scientific generating from colocation services?

In the third quarter, colocation services generated $215.4 million, representing roughly 92% of the company’s $232.9 million total revenue, with a segment gross margin of 60%.

What are the company’s largest high-performance computing contracts?

The company has contracted roughly 1.1 gigawatts of total capacity across two anchor commitments: 590 MW dedicated to CoreWeave and 530 MW across five campuses supported by AMD, which together are projected to generate $1.8 billion in average annual run-rate revenue once fully operational.