Core Scientific signaled on Monday that it will continue selling Bitcoin to fund its transition toward AI and high-performance computing, detailing plans to significantly reduce its holdings in the coming months while announcing fourth-quarter earnings results.
The company noted that the “majority of the sales” are expected to occur in the first quarter of this year. However, those liquidations are subject to market conditions.
Core Scientific’s willingness to sell Bitcoin underscores a broader shift among companies that once dominated the Bitcoin mining industry in the U.S., as a growing number of them seek to maximize revenue by capitalizing on insatiable demand for AI-associated resources.
Core Scientific CFO Jim Nygar said during the company’s earnings call that the company currently holds less than 1,000 Bitcoin. In January, the company sold 1,900 Bitcoin for $175 million “at materially higher prices above current market levels.”
On the company’s earnings call, Core Scientific CEO Adam Sullivan said the company is in the process of converting its facility in Pecos, Texas to colocation from Bitcoin mining. He said the site can support up to a whopping 430 megawatts of gross power capacity.
“Stepping back, our strategy remains the same,” he said. “We expect every megawatt in our portfolio to be dedicated to colocation within the next 3 years.”
That would signal an end to the company’s self-mining Bitcoin operations, which generated a majority of Core Scientific’s fourth-quarter revenue. The company earned $41.1 million from mining Bitcoin for itself compared to $31.3 million from colocation during the period. That’s in addition to $6.5 million from hosting Bitcoin mining from its customers in Q4.
Core Scientific posted fourth-quarter net income of $216 million compared to a loss of $291 million during the same period a year ago. Revenue for the period meanwhile fell to $70 million from $94.9 million a year ago as its self-mining business continued to contract.
