#Gate广场四月发帖挑战 Layoffs, selling coins, and developing AI: MARA's transformation is just a typical example of what mining companies are experiencing.
On April 3, 2026, Bitcoin mining company MARA laid off 15% of its staff to advance the company's strategic shift from a pure Bitcoin miner to an energy and digital infrastructure company, with increased focus on AI infrastructure deployment. Previously, the company had entered the AI computing market by acquiring a 64% stake in Exaion, and now, with ongoing massive losses in Bitcoin mining and explosive growth in AI computing demand, these factors have become the dual core drivers of its transformation. Not only MARA, but the global mining industry’s AI transition has already begun... One of the world's largest Bitcoin mining companies, MARA (NASDAQ:MARA), has cut about 15% of its employees, involving full-time staff across multiple departments and some contractors.
MARA CEO Fred Thiel stated in an internal memo that this layoff was not purely a financial decision but part of the company's strategic shift from a pure Bitcoin miner to an energy and digital infrastructure company. This move reflects MARA’s proactive “downsizing,” reallocating resources from traditional mining operations toward the more promising AI sector.
1. From Mining Company to Digital Infrastructure: MARA’s Path of Transformation
On February 26 this year, MARA Holdings, Inc. announced that it had reached a strategic agreement with Starwood Capital Group (“Starwood”) and its dedicated data center development platform, Starwood Digital Ventures (“SDV”). This partnership aims to upgrade some of MARA’s data centers, building next-generation digital infrastructure to meet the growing demands of enterprise, hyperscale, and AI clients. SDV leads the design, development, tenant recruitment, construction, and facility operations, while Starwood provides investment expertise to enhance project economics. MARA contributes dedicated, energy-efficient data centers. The two parties will deliver approximately 1 gigawatt of IT capacity, with the potential to reach over 2.5 gigawatts in the future.
MARA sits at the intersection of energy and computing, while SDV’s development engine provides strong execution and operational capabilities, which are crucial for MARA’s transition and expansion into scalable and sustainable digital infrastructure. These data centers are designed for dual use, capable of running AI/enterprise/high-performance computing workloads and Bitcoin mining simultaneously, providing operational flexibility in a changing market environment. This modular approach allows Marathon to continue its mining operations while securing “highly attractive economic terms” from higher-margin data center customers.
MARA’s AI layout dates back to 2025. In August 2025, broker HC Wainwright pointed out that MARA would acquire a 64% stake in Exaion, a high-performance computing (HPC) company under French energy giant EDF, with plans to increase its stake to 75% by 2027.
In February this year, MARA’s official website announced that the acquisition of a 64% stake in Exaion had been completed, with EDF remaining a minority shareholder and customer; NJJ also acquired a 10% stake in MARA France. Exaion specializes in HPC data centers and secure cloud/AI, with board members including Xavier Niel and MARA CEO Fred Thiel, aiming to accelerate expansion in Europe. This marks MARA’s first substantial entry into the AI/HPC field, transitioning from a mining company to a computing power service provider.
2. Why the Shift?
1. Losses in Mining Business
In February, when the transformation was announced, MARA also released its Q4 2025 earnings: despite operational improvements, the company still reported huge losses. In Q4 2025, MARA posted a net loss of $1.7 billion (or a loss of $4.52 per share), contrasting sharply with a net profit of $528 million in the same period last year. Revenue declined 6% year-over-year to $202 million, below analyst expectations of $253.65 million. The Q4 results reflect the severe challenges faced by Bitcoin miners, with multiple adverse factors impacting profitability. Financial and operational overview shows overall pressure on key metrics. Although hashrate increased 25% year-over-year to 66.4 EH/s, and Bitcoin supply grew 20% to 53,822 BTC, increased network difficulty caused a 19% decrease in production to 2,011 BTC. MARA successfully improved cost efficiency, reducing daily PET hash cost by 4% to $30.50. However, this was insufficient to offset the impacts of Bitcoin price volatility and increased network competition. Due to significant impairments and operational pressures, adjusted EBITDA plummeted from $796 million in Q4 2024 to a negative $1.5 billion. The company holds about $5.3 billion in cash and Bitcoin but faces a massive $3.64 billion debt, and over the past 12 months, its leveraged free cash flow consumed $1.77 billion.
2. The Rise of AI
MARA’s adjustment is also aimed at aligning with the current AI boom. Power demand for AI data centers is projected to grow from about 50 gigawatts in 2025 to 200 gigawatts in 2030, an increase of 255%, requiring trillions of dollars in capital investment.
According to Goldman Sachs research, by 2030, global data center power demand will increase approximately 165%–200% from current levels, with AI-related loads continuing to rise; McKinsey & Company estimates that the cumulative investment in AI infrastructure (computing power + data centers + electricity) could reach trillions of dollars in the coming years. Amid the AI wave, MARA faces a choice: continue to bear Bitcoin-related losses due to uncertainty, or shift to the more essential computing power market. Bitcoin mining farms are essentially natural AI computing infrastructure, and MARA’s transformation appears to be a strategic industry upgrade aligned with market trends.
3. Mining Companies Are Collectively Moving Toward Transformation
MARA’s transformation is not isolated but a typical example across the mining industry. Over the past year, as Bitcoin mining profitability shrinks and AI demand surges, global miners are experiencing a wave of transformation. According to S&P data released in February, although revenue from high-performance computing (HPC) and AI remains limited so far, infrastructure investments are accelerating. Analysts predict that starting in 2026, HPC will contribute significantly to revenue. HPC is no longer a side business: for many mining companies, it is expected to become a main growth pillar in the coming years. Notably, IREN, Terawulf, and Core Scientific now focus almost entirely on HPC development, and analysts forecast these businesses will drive most of their revenue growth by 2026. By 2026, HPC revenue will account for 13% of Riot’s total income. The shift is even more pronounced for other companies: IREN’s HPC revenue is expected to jump from 3% in 2024 to 71% of total revenue; Core Scientific is projected to go from 5% to 71%; HIVE from 7% to 15%; Cipher Mining and Terawulf are expected to reach 34% and 70%, respectively, with their contributions in 2024 being almost negligible.
This shift highlights the industry’s strategic transition from reliance on cryptocurrency to growth driven by AI and high-performance computing. Miners are positioning themselves as providers of high-performance computing infrastructure, offering hosting services such as power, cooling, and physical infrastructure.