Bitcoin miners widen Q1 losses amid AI data-center pivots

Five public bitcoin miners reported larger net losses for the first quarter of 2026 as falling bitcoin prices and non-cash writedowns depressed results while the companies pursued AI-focused data-center deals.

Hut 8 reported a Q1 net loss of $253.1 million, up from $134.3 million a year earlier. Core Scientific posted a $347.2 million loss. American Bitcoin recorded an $81.8 million loss. Cipher Digital reported a $114 million loss, and Riot Platforms said its quarterly loss exceeded $500 million.

Companies attributed much of the deterioration to lower bitcoin prices and large non-cash items. Hut 8 said its net loss included $295.7 million of primarily unrealized losses on digital assets, compared with $112.4 million in the prior-year period.

Core Scientific’s results included $266.5 million in non-cash impairment charges and a $30.8 million non-cash loss tied to changes in the fair value of warrants and contingent value rights. Cipher Digital’s loss reflected the wind-down of its Black Pearl mining operations, a fair-value decline on a power contract and higher interest expense from new debt facilities.

American Bitcoin reported that its digital-asset holdings contributed $117.18 million in losses. The company produced bitcoin at a 52% gross margin in Q1 and reduced its cost to mine to about $36,200 per bitcoin from roughly $46,900 in Q4 2025, Matthew Prusak, president of American Bitcoin, said.

Several miners booked unrealized losses because they hold mined bitcoin on their balance sheets and mark those holdings to market each quarter. Other firms recognized impairment charges on equipment and facilities after prolonged weak pricing for mining revenue.

At the same time, the firms disclosed new data-center and colocation agreements tied to artificial intelligence workloads. Hut 8 disclosed a Beacon Point lease valued at $9.8 billion. Cipher Digital signed its third hyperscale lease in the quarter. Riot reported $33.2 million of data-center revenue, and Core Scientific said it is repurposing mining facilities for colocation.

Company filings and statements described the data-center leases and colocation contracts as revenue diversification away from pure mining economics.

Stock reactions during the May 6 session were mixed. Hut 8 shares rose about 35% to $108.94 in regular trading before slipping in after-hours trading. Core Scientific gained roughly 11% to $24.63 in the session and traded lower after hours. American Bitcoin briefly rose about 1.6% to $1.25 in regular trading and then gave up those gains in pre-market activity.

Bitcoin’s price fell roughly 22% in the period covered by the results, weighing on miners’ held inventories and profitability. Several miners reported lower costs per mined coin through operational changes and lower power costs at some sites, but companies said those savings did not fully offset mark-to-market losses and impairment charges in the quarter.

The companies reported continued pursuit of colocation and lease agreements alongside mining operations and documented signed deals and revenue related to data-center services in their quarterly disclosures.