BlackRock is urging shoppers to cease treating AI as a pure software program commerce and begin treating it as an vitality constraint that might collide with bitcoin mining.
BlackRock’s vitality warning
In its 2026 International Outlook, the BlackRock Funding Institute stated AI-driven information facilities may eat as a lot as 24% of US electrical energy by 2030.
That forecast reframes investor focus from chips to megawatts, and raises a direct query for bitcoin miners whose enterprise mannequin will depend on entry to low-cost, typically interruptible energy.
BlackRock wrote in its outlook:
“Cease taking a look at synthetic intelligence as software program and begin treating it as vitality.”
Miners run on flexibility, AI calls for certainty
The report argued the AI buildout is pushing in opposition to bodily limits and highlighted electrical energy because the constraint buyers are underpricing.
BlackRock additionally cited $5 trillion to $8 trillion in whole capital spending intentions for AI infrastructure by 2030.
Bitcoin miners have lengthy argued they’ll act as a versatile load, curbing when grids are harassed.
Texas’ ERCOT has designed packages for “massive versatile clients,” together with mining amenities.
In contrast, AI information facilities usually search always-on baseload energy and long-term certainty.
Grid politics and a potential pivot
BlackRock’s framing lands as US energy markets tighten amid interconnection backlogs and transmission delays.
The US EIA estimated bitcoin mining represented about 0.6% to 2.3% of US electrical energy consumption in 2024.
BlackRock’s outlook suggests miners could face harder competitors for grid entry, whereas some could attempt to pivot from hashing to internet hosting by repurposing energy websites for AI workloads.
Miners’ economics stay intently tied to community hashrate and shifts in mining issue, particularly after the most recent block subsidy halving diminished new issuance per block.