Bitfarms clocks $36M net loss amid shift from Bitcoin mining to AI

Bitfarms clocked a first-quarter net loss of $36 million, widening from a $6 million loss in the same period a year earlier, as the Bitcoin miner pivots from mining to high-performance computing for artificial intelligence applications.The miner posted $67 million in sales for the quarter ended March 31, up 33% from the year prior. However, gross profit margin for Bitfarms mining operations declined to 43% from 63% year-over-year, the company said in its first quarter earnings release.The lower margins reflect pressure from Bitcoins (BTC) April 2024 halving as well as volatility in Bitcoins price. Halvings occur every four years and cut the number of BTC mined per block in half, reducing Bitcoin miners profitability.In the first quarter of 2025, Bitcoins spot price swung from more than $100,000 in January to less than $80,000 in March, according to data from Google Finance. The cryptocurrency trades at more than $103,000 per coin as of March 14.Bitfarms quarterly operating performance. Source: BitfarmsRelated: Bitcoin mining stocks down after Microsoft scraps data center plansPivot to AIBitfarms has responded to the changing market conditions by investing in high-performance computing (HPC). It has also expanded its US presence as a hedge against looming trade wars.During the quarter, we executed across several key areas in our strategic pivot to the U.S. and HPC, Bitfarms CEO Ben Gagnon said in a statement.The mining business now provides a stable, low-capex and free cash flow foundation for the Company that positions us very well to grow and develop our U.S. assets into HPC/AI data centers while still capitalizing on any potential Bitcoin upside in 2025 and 2026, he added.Miners are diversifying into AI data-center hosting as a way to expand revenue and repurpose existing infrastructure for high-performance computing, Coin Metrics said in a March report.The computer hardware and electrical power supplies required for Bitcoin mining are also useful for applications requiring high-performance computing, including AI use cases.In March, AI computing provider CoreWeave raised $1.5 billion in an initial public offering that valued the company at roughly $20 billion, reflecting strong demand among investors for companies servicing AI applications. CoreWeaves earnings for the past quarter are scheduled for May 14. In April, Bitfarms secured a $300 million line of credit from investment bank Macquarie to finance the expansion of an HPC facility in Pennsylvania.In January, the company sold a Bitcoin mining facility in Paraguay to Hive Digital, another miner, for $85 million.Magazine:Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now its becoming them in stablecoin fight