Core Scientific said it intends to wind down its bitcoin mining business by the end of 2026 and begin 2027 as a high-density data center operator focused on artificial intelligence workloads. The plan marks a full strategic shift away from the activity that originally defined the company.
The change was outlined alongside third-quarter 2026 results that showed rapid growth in colocation revenue. Core Scientific said the expansion of its AI and high-performance computing business is already improving its financial profile, with higher revenue, stronger margins, and large contracted capacity still to be brought online.
Mining exit takes shape
The company said the transition will include halting new bitcoin mining activity, selling or decommissioning existing ASIC machines, and steadily reducing the remaining mining fleet. By September, the number of active devices was about 50% lower than at the end of 2025, showing that the wind-down was already well underway before the latest announcement.
Core Scientific's bitcoin holdings have also fallen during the year. As of Nov. 6, 2026, the company held 848 BTC, down from 2,537 BTC at the start of the year.
Colocation revenue becomes the main growth engine
In the third quarter of 2026, revenue from colocation services rose nearly 60% quarter over quarter to $215 million. Adjusted EBITDA exceeded $130 million, while the EBITDA margin improved from 25% to 57%, according to the company's report.
Core Scientific said it expects another quarter of double-digit revenue growth in Q4 on a quarter-over-quarter basis. The company presented those results as evidence that the move toward AI infrastructure is becoming the core driver of the business.
CoreWeave and AMD contracts underpin expansion
The company said it has fully executed contracts covering 1.1 gigawatts of capacity with CoreWeave and AMD. Once those agreements are fully ramped, Core Scientific expects they will generate about $1.8 billion in average annual revenue and roughly $1.6 billion in net operating income.
Within the CoreWeave agreements, the company said it is already billing for 485 megawatts of the 590 megawatts contracted across five sites, with around 100 megawatts in commissioning. For AMD, an initial 530 megawatts of capacity is planned for the Pecos site in the first half of 2027, with about half of that capacity expected online in 2027 and the remainder in 2028.
Liquidity position and next buildout phase
At the end of the third quarter, Core Scientific reported about $1.7 billion in liquidity. That total included $800 million in cash, $840 million in restricted cash and debt service reserves, and a $100 million available credit facility. The company said equity for the first 530 megawatts tied to the AMD buildout has already been contributed from cash.
For future construction, Core Scientific said financing could include project bonds and other forms of debt. It also expects about $650 million from warrant exercises in January 2027. Beyond the currently contracted projects, the company said it is evaluating about 2 gigawatts of potential capacity at new sites for 2029 and later, adding that more assets are coming up for sale as financing remains limited for some market participants.
Source: incrypted.com