Bitcoin mining will boost artificial intelligence

The union of the cryptocurrency industry and companies dedicated to the development of artificial intelligence (AI) could add $20 trillion to global GDP by 2030. This was stated by Bitwise’s senior cryptocurrency research analyst, Juan Leon.

For Leon, AI could require the resources currently available by companies dedicated to mining Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.

The Bitwise manager explains that The growing market demand for artificial intelligence is not being accompanied by technological and structural development.

This prevents companies that are dedicated to AI from having the necessary resources. Specifically, many of these companies have problems in their data centers processing information and, on the other hand, require a greater supply of electricity.

In relation to this, on March 29, 2024, a Microsoft company executive announced the investment of 100,000 million dollars, together with the Open AI company, for the construction of a new data center to enhance the functionalities of the tasks. associated with artificial intelligence.

“We are always planning for the next generation of infrastructure innovations needed to continue pushing the frontier of AI capability.”

Frank Shaw, Microsoft spokesman.

To understand the reason for this “alliance” between two industries that, at first glance, have nothing to do with each other, it is necessary to understand that to mine Bitcoin are necessary equipment with great processing power, specific hardware and software, electrical energy, Internet and a cooling system that tolerates all that work and consumption. These requirements provide BTC mining companies with a series of technological and IT tools that could provide AI developers with a solution to their lack of infrastructure.

This structural scarcity that currently surrounds AI and the surplus resources available to some companies destined to mine Bitcoin could connect both industries.. And so, Bitcoin miners could benefit from the current impossibilities of AI and gain another source of income.

Such is the case of the Bit Digital company that, in October 2023, took a step forward in the field of AI and launched Bit Digital AI. Through this new sector of the company, it agreed to provide GPU (video card) rental services to a client involved in AI development for a total of $257 million.

Bitwise also pointed out this as a relevant point and a possible communion between industries due to the lack of structural possibilities that AI developers have not yet been able to resolve:

“Bitcoin miners are designed for the sole purpose of processing and storing gigantic amounts of data. “They have the resources that AI companies desperately need.”

Juan León, Senior Cryptocurrency Research Analyst at Bitwise.

In addition to this, the Bitwise analyst gave his opinion on the possible magnitude that the link between the cryptocurrency industry and the development of artificial intelligence would obtain. For him, “the intersection of AI and cryptocurrencies will be even greater than people imagine.”

In November last year, Europe’s largest Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining company, Northern Data, received a €575 million loan from Tether. These were used to purchase graphics cards (GPU) to expand its operations and expand its services related to artificial intelligence.

Another precedent of this alliance is the company Hive Digital. This Bitcoin and Ethereum miner was a pioneer in entering the world of artificial intelligence. In 2020, it allocated 2% of the graphics cards it owned to AI servers and made a profit of $250,000 in the first quarter.