Core Scientific Is Leaving Bitcoin Mining Behind as AI Revenue Takes Over

Core Scientific is preparing to shut down the last part of the business that once defined it.

The company plans to wind down Bitcoin self-mining by the end of 2026 as its AI-focused data-center operation becomes the clear center of gravity.

The numbers now describe a company that earns most of its money from high-density colocation and is steadily converting the infrastructure left behind by Bitcoin mining.

Core Scientific said colocation revenue reached $215.4 million in the third quarter, up nearly 60% from the previous quarter. The company was billing for 485 megawatts of capacity at the end of September.

That installed capacity represents more than $700 million in average annualized colocation revenue, according to the company. Total quarterly revenue reached $232.9 million, meaning AI-focused colocation supplied more than nine dollars of every ten dollars Core Scientific brought in.

Adjusted EBITDA more than tripled sequentially to $133.6 million, with the adjusted margin rising to 57% from 25%. The company also said construction under its second colocation agreement is underway across five campuses.

Core Scientific reported $1.74 billion in liquidity and debt-service reserves at quarter-end. The scale of that balance sheet matters because converting mining campuses into AI infrastructure requires new electrical, cooling and networking systems before customers can use the capacity.

Bitcoin mining has moved in the opposite direction. Self-mining revenue fell to $12.3 million from $21.5 million in the second quarter and $57.4 million a year earlier.

Core Scientific’s digital-asset holdings stood at just $2.7 million at quarter-end, down from $49.7 million three months earlier.

The company summarized the widening gap between the two businesses in its results update:

Core Scientific shared its Q3 2026 results this morning. Key updates:

– Data center revenue grew nearly 60% from last quarter to $215.4M, driven by continued capacity delivery to our customers.

– As of September 30, 2026, we are billing for 485MW of capacity, generating over… pic.twitter.com/IIGp6p1tzm

— Core Scientific (@Core_Scientific) November 5, 2026

Cointelegraph reported that management expects the remaining self-mining operation to be gone by year-end. Core Scientific’s own filing says the company is repurposing its remaining mining facilities for high-density colocation wherever the sites can support the conversion.

That last qualification matters. A Bitcoin mine and an AI data center both consume enormous amounts of electricity, but the hardware and operating requirements are not interchangeable.

AI customers need dense networking, specialized cooling and a level of reliability that requires substantial construction. Core Scientific spent $985.1 million on capital expenditures in the quarter, almost four times the $244.5 million it spent a year earlier.

The buildout is visible at the company’s campuses. Core Scientific recently showed construction advancing on a second building at its Muskogee, Oklahoma site:

Another milestone at our Muskogee campus.

Following completion of our first building earlier this year, construction is advancing on our second building, with vertical walls now in place in the initial data hall.

This is what execution looks like. $CORZ pic.twitter.com/rustD6UlxM

— Core Scientific (@Core_Scientific) October 27, 2026

The pivot also changes what investors are buying. Core Scientific emerged from bankruptcy as one of the largest public Bitcoin miners in North America.

Its earnings were once tightly tied to Bitcoin’s price, network difficulty and power costs. A contracted AI colocation business offers longer-duration revenue, but it brings expensive construction, customer concentration, financing pressure and power-delivery risk.

There is one especially important detail in the quarter’s $1.2 billion net income figure. Core Scientific said that result benefited from a non-cash change in the fair value of warrants.

The cleaner operating signal is the revenue mix: $215.4 million from colocation, compared with $12.3 million from self-mining and $5.2 million from hosted mining.

Bitcoin built Core Scientific’s footprint. AI is now taking it over.

If the company completes the remaining conversions and turns off its last miners on schedule, 2026 will mark the end of one of the clearest public-company migrations from crypto mining into AI infrastructure.

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