Bitfarms (BITF +0.90%) has significantly outperformed Bitcoin (BTC 0.38%) this year. As of early December, its shares were up almost 90% since the start of the year. At the same time, Bitcoin was down 5% year to date.
NASDAQ: BITF
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That's because Bitfarms is pivoting away from crypto. It's transitioning toward becoming an energy and digital company to meet the growing demand from AI data centers, and its efforts are starting to bear fruit.
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Bitfarms is abandoning Bitcoin mining
Bitfarms began its shift away from Bitcoin mining at the end of last year. It closed out some of its Bitcoin positions while prices were high and began converting its mining centers. Bitfarms CEO Ben Gagnon told investors on its recent November third-quarter earnings call that the company believed it could earn more from just one site offering GPUs as a service than it had ever generated from Bitcoin mining.
Bitfarms is not alone. Volatile crypto prices and a competitive market have made Bitcoin mining less profitable. At the same time, data centers need energy -- and lots of it. Several Bitcoin miners are teaming up with tech companies to put their energy to a different use. They already have the facilities -- it's just a question of adapting them to AI.
Keep Bitfarms on your radar
Bitfarms is no longer a Bitcoin mining play. The company says it will completely wind down its mining operations. However, energy companies are gaining traction as picks-and-shovels AI investments. That makes it worth watching.
Its Washington conversion is due to be completed at the end of 2026. Bitfarms says it's already lined up a $128 million deal with an unnamed large American multinational to provide data center infrastructure. It has the liquidity and development plans for sites in Quebec and Pennsylvania.
Both cryptocurrency and AI are high-risk investments with a lot of uncertainty about how the industries will evolve. However, Bitfarms' ability to adapt and meet new opportunities bodes well for its future.
