I remember reading news stories of youngsters from small towns across the world setting up Bitcoin (BTC) mining operations and getting rich within a few years.
Bitcoin mining was a novel technology then, and they were willing to explore it as a source of income.
Related: Treasury Secretary Bessent reveals new plan to finance U.S. government
In simple words, it is the process of using specialized computing hardware to solve complex cryptographic puzzles to verify and add blocks containing BTC transactions to the chain.
In exchange for securing the blockchain network, miners receive rewards in the form of BTC.
But after multiple Bitcoin halvings, rising power costs, and the recent Bitcoin crash, mining is no longer such a profitable venture.
As a result, we are witnessing several high-profile exits from the Bitcoin mining operations.
As reported earlier, Bit Digital (Nasdaq: BTBT) recently said it plans to completely shut down Bitcoin mining operations and only focus on Ethereum (ETH) and artificial intelligence (AI) operations.
The most obvious pivot for Bitcoin miners has been AI, and it’s not a difficult transition because mining companies already have a ready infrastructure.
Now, a popular Bitcoin miner has said it’s “no longer a Bitcoin company.”
On Feb. 6, Bitfarms Ltd. (Nasdaq/TSX: BITF) announced that its board of directors has approved a redomicile from Canada to the United States after a long strategic review process. Once the company is redomiciled in the U.S., it will be incorporated in the state of Delaware and operate under the name Keel Infrastructure.
The company will then trade under the ticker “KEEL” on both Nasdaq and the Toronto Stock Exchange, the statement read.
The redomicile and rebranding are a step in the company’s transformation from Bitcoin mining to AI/HPC operations, it said.
CEO Ben Gagnon said, “We are no longer a Bitcoin company, we are an infrastructure-first owner and developer for HPC/AI data centers across North America.”
Gagnon added the company’s focus is simple: building the infrastructure for the compute of the future.
A shareholder vote is expected on March 20, following which the U.S. redomiciliation is expected to be complete on or about Apr. 1, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.
