123: Crypto Mining in Need of Creatine?
Top 20 chain collapses 90%. Crypto pivots to AI. Revolut takes on Amex. Visa joins the Global Dollar Network (USDG). Safe Superintelligence raises $2B. Futureverse acquires Candy Digital.
👋 Hey, it’s Marc.
This week, Galaxy Digital walked away from Bitcoin Mining and signed a $4.5B AI compute deal. This might reshape the entire crypto cycle
Then: One of the top 20 chains, collapsed 90%. And it's a disgrace for the entire industry.
This wasn’t some obscure rugpull or sketchy project no one’s heard of. Mantra was one of the most hyped RWA projects in the space, legitimized by major platforms (incl. Cointelegraph & Paris Blockchain Week) because they threw money at them. No clear answers on what happened.
Let’s be clear: With events like this, the industry is failing itself. Stand up, speak up. We must do better. It's time to clean the house.
This week’s question:
📚 Our Top Reads
- Stablecoins: Payments Without Intermediaries. Chris Dixon. Link
- Google's AI Agent Bombshell. 51x. Link
- Google’s Agent-to-Agent protocol vs Anthropics MPC. Link
- The Crypto Pivot to AI. DCD. Link
- The State of Crypto Lending. Galaxy. Link
- Tokenization of currencies and assets [Paper]. Link
- The Future of Ticketing: How Blockchain is Unlocking New Revenue and Engagement [Podcast]. 51. Link
- Spending on AI Training Infrastructure. Dell’Oro Group. Link
Find the Best Web3 & AI Vendors
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Is Bitcoin Mining Dead?
Galaxy Digital just walked away from Bitcoin mining and signed a $4.5B, 15-year deal with CoreWeave to use its flagship datacenter "Helios" in Texas for AI infrastructure.
Why it matters: Miners are swapping crypto's uncertainty for AI's stability and it might reshape the entire crypto cycle.
What you should know: Galaxy Digital signed a 15-year lease agreement with CoreWeave to deliver 133 MW of Critical IT Load (200 MW total) at the Helios campus.
- It is clearing out crypto miners to make room for AI and HPC infrastructure.
- Galaxy’s 15-year lease with CoreWeave is set to generate ~$4.5B in revenue.
- Galaxy has 800 MW approved at Helios, with 1.7 GW under review — giving CoreWeave room to scale beyond 133 MW as demand grows.
Be smart: CoreWeave is better money than mining.
- $300M per year in revenue
- 90% EBITDA margins
- Near-zero Opex for Galaxy
- $2.26M revenue per MW
Their ready-made setups (buildings, cooling gear, and cheap power) make it an easy switch, turning risky rewards into steady cash.
Stepping back: Galaxy bought Helios from Argo Blockchain for $65M in late 2022; Argo avoided bankruptcy and secured a 2-year hosting deal in the sale.
Zooming in: As of late 2024, CoreWeave runs 32 data centers with 250K+ GPUs and 360MW active power — expanding to 10 more sites in 2025, with 1.3GW of contracted capacity.
Zooming out: Global investments in data centres surged 51% YoY in 2024 to $455B. Data centre spend could top $1T annually within 5 years as hyperscalers scale for AI. AI returns remain early, but long-term growth is locked — driven by capex cycles and bets like the $500B Stargate Project.
By 2029, ~50% of infra spend will go to AI hardware, led by accelerated computing and domain-specific workloads.
Who’s leading:
- Top 4 hyperscalers (Amazon, Google, Meta, & Microsoft) = ~50% of 2025 global capex
- Tier 2 cloud players (xAI & CoreWeave) are catching up fast.
Bitcoin miners are pivoting to AI — and investors like it. Since June 2024, the top 14 miners have added $4B (+22%) in market cap.
Big moves: Core Scientific x CoreWeave deal & Hut 8’s $150M AI push
Hive Digital, Northern Data, Applied Digital, Iris Energy, Mawson Infrastructure, & Crusoe are also repurposing crypto sites into AI data centres.
Going deeper: The line between crypto mining and AI data centres is blurring — fueling the rise of cloud mining: no hardware, no hassle. Just rent hash power, earn rewards. Two key players:
DRML Miner: Decentralised cloud mining platform that recently closed a $1B strategic financing round, utilising renewable energy for sustainable mining.
Serves 7M+ users in 120+ countries, powering ~3.8% of Bitcoin’s network.
XY Miners: Secured $300M to expand cloud mining and high-performance computing for both crypto and AI workloads.
AI and cloud mining are converging — driven by rising AI workloads, cheaper sustainable energy, and flexible resource allocation between mining and compute.
The big squeeze: AI compute demand is outpacing supply, pushing hyperscalers like Microsoft to rent capacity from ex-crypto miners.
The loop: Crypto mining → AI → Cloud Giants → OpenAI → Microsoft → back to AI
Bottom Line: Bitcoin mining is shifting. Companies like Hut 8 and Galaxy Digital are moving into AI infrastructure to secure steady returns as crypto’s volatility persists, while major players like Foundry and Antpool strengthen their dominance, controlling over 50% of the global hash rate.
Meanwhile, cloud mining platforms like DRML Miner are making it easier for anyone to access computing power by offering it as a service.
The lines between Bitcoin mining, AI, and cloud services are blurring, creating a capital-intensive system where the same hardware powers both, making operations more efficient and scalable.
Our take: Galaxy Digital is pivoting to AI by leveraging existing infrastructure—data centers, cooling, and low-cost power. However, AI’s capital demands and rising hyperscaler competition could pressure margins, favouring early movers with secured deals and driving consolidation among well-funded miners. In the last 4 big crypto cycles, layer 1 chains were the clear winners. But next wave of value might not be in blockchains. It could be in compute.
Visa joins Global Dollar Network
Visa is reportedly set to become the first traditional finance giant to join the Global Dollar Network (USDG) — a consortium designed to drive stablecoin adoption and liquidity.
Why it matters: Stablecoins are moving from “crypto-native” to core financial infrastructure, with Visa helping bridge the gap between Web2 and Web3 payments.
Our take: The real game isn’t about retail crypto anymore, it’s about stablecoins powering global settlements, treasury flows, and institutional payments.
🚨 News Flash
- Futureverse acquires Candy Digital. Link
- Safe Superintelligence (SSI) raises an extra $2B at a reported $32B valuation. Link
- Revolut’s plan to challenge American Express and other loyalty giants. Link
Hot on Bitcoin:
- Strategy added 3,459 more BTC (~$285.7M), funded by selling ~959K shares of Class A stock.
- Japanese firm Metaplanet bought another $26.3M in Bitcoin, raising its total to 4,525 BTC, and becoming the ninth largest holder.
👉 Keep up with all our signals for Web3 execs on our Telegram channel.
💰 Money Moves
- BugsCoin: Web3 education platform raised $12M led by BullPerks. Link
- Optimum: Infrastructure platform raised $11M seed led by 1kx. Link
- Towns Protocol: Blockchain communication platform raised $10M Series B led by a16z. Link
- Resolv: Stablecoin startup raised $10M co-led by Cyber Fund and Maven 11. Link
That’s all for now, folks.
Talk soon,
– Marc & Team
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