2 Bitcoin mining stocks not to ignore amid growing AI demand

Core Insights - The Bitcoin mining sector is witnessing renewed investor interest due to Bitcoin's rally past $70,000 and a shift towards AI-focused business models among key players [1] - Companies like Core Scientific and Iris Energy are repositioning to capitalize on the high-growth AI market [1] Core Scientific (NASDAQ: CORZ) - Core Scientific has a market cap of $3.7 billion and an enterprise value of $4.22 billion, attracting significant institutional interest with over 55% of shares held by institutional investors [3] - The company has entered a transformative 12-year partnership with AI hyperscaler CoreWeave, expected to generate up to $3.5 billion in revenue [3][4] - CoreWeave's contracted high-performance computing capacity across five Core Scientific sites reaches 382 megawatts, enhancing its position in the AI-driven computing sector [4] - Core Scientific plans to issue $400 million in convertible senior notes maturing in 2029, with an option to increase by an additional $60 million, aimed at repaying $267 million in high-interest debt, reducing the interest rate from 12.5% to 3% [5][6] - The current stock price is $14, and the strategic shift towards AI applications presents a compelling growth opportunity for investors [6] Iris Energy Limited (NASDAQ: IREN) - Iris Energy has a market cap of $2 billion and an enterprise value of $1.59 billion, expanding into AI to enhance revenue streams and growth potential [7] - Institutional investors hold a 44% stake in Iris Energy, which generated $3.1 million in revenue from AI cloud services in fiscal year 2024 [8] - The company invested $43.9 million to acquire 1,080 NVIDIA H200 GPUs, increasing its total GPU count to 1,896, expected to yield $32 million in annualized hardware profit [8][9] - Iris Energy reported an EBITDA of $19.6 million, a significant improvement from a loss of $123.2 million the previous year, with Bitcoin mining revenue reaching a record $184.1 million [10] - The stock is currently trading at $10.55, and the company is exploring AI data center opportunities at its 1.4 GW West Texas site [9][10] Market Outlook - With Bitcoin maintaining a price above $70,000 and growing demand for AI, Core Scientific and Iris Energy are well-positioned to benefit from the convergence of AI and Bitcoin mining [11]