The Defiant - DeFi Podcast Bitcoin Mining’s Golden Age or Final Battle? Insights From Fakhul Miah
Sep 5, 2025
Fakhul Miah, Managing Director of GoMining Institutional and former Morgan Stanley executive, shares insights into the evolving Bitcoin mining ecosystem. He discusses the fierce competition from AI hyperscalers for energy resources. Miah highlights how miners are adapting with innovative financing methods like BTC-backed loans. The conversation touches on the shifting geopolitical landscape of mining, particularly between the U.S. and emerging markets in Latin America and Africa. He also explores the transformation of Bitcoin mining into a vital global infrastructure industry.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
AI Vs Miners: New Energy Rivalry
- AI hyperscalers are outbidding miners for long-term gigawatt contracts and reshaping power markets.
- Bitcoin mining retains flexibility since it can operate with lower uptime and in remote locations.
Mining's Flexibility Is A Structural Advantage
- Bitcoin mining's lack of 100% uptime requirement makes it a flexible grid participant for curtailment and surplus energy.
- Miners can deploy to remote sites where AI data centers cannot, lowering CAPEX needs.
Companies Pivoted To Survive Energy Shifts
- Core Scientific pivoted from pure mining toward AI infrastructure to survive economic pressures.
- Marathon paused expansion as AI competition reshaped data center demand and site availability.