CoreWeave Doubles Down: Second Bid for Core Scientific Sparks Crypto Mining Shakeup

CoreWeave isn't taking 'no' for an answer. The GPU cloud provider just fired its second shot at acquiring bitcoin miner Core Scientific—and this time, the stakes are higher.

Why the persistence? CoreWeave's betting big that AI and crypto mining are converging. Their infrastructure play could reshape how we think about data centers and hashpower.

Wall Street analysts are already rolling their eyes—'Another crypto M&A circus,' muttered one while adjusting his 2026 lambo fund projections. But beneath the skepticism lies a serious infrastructure gambit.

If this deal lands, it could trigger a wave of consolidation as AI firms scramble for bitcoin miners' power contracts and real estate. The hash rate might never look the same.

Can the second bid stick this time?

CoreWeave’s renewed pursuit of Core Scientific appears to be about securing the infrastructure needed to win the AI race.

The AI cloud provider, fresh off a $1.5 billion IPO and partnerships with Microsoft and OpenAI, is locked in a battle for computing power with rivals like Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud. Unlike those giants, CoreWeave doesn’t own massive data center networks. That’s where Core Scientific comes in.

Core Scientific controls something even more valuable than raw computing power: energy infrastructure. The Bitcoin miner’s facilities, mostly located NEAR cheap, abundant power sources, are already wired for high-density computing, making them ideal for AI workloads.

The existing 200-megawatt deal between the two companies, signed last year, was just the start. Owning Core Scientific outright WOULD give CoreWeave direct control over power contracts, bypassing the scramble for data center capacity that’s bottlenecking AI expansion.

What’s in for Core Scientific?

For CORE Scientific, the timing couldn’t be more strategic. The company emerged from bankruptcy in early 2024 with a leaner operation and a stronger balance sheet, but Bitcoin’s halving in April slashed mining rewards, squeezing margins across the industry.

While some miners are selling off assets or pivoting to AI hosting piecemeal, Core Scientific’s management has held out for a bigger play. Their first-quarter profit of $580 million, largely driven by Bitcoin’s price rebound and efficient operations, proved they’re no longer a distressed asset. Now, they’re a strategic one.

Whether the deal closes or collapses, the return of CoreWeave to the negotiating table underscores a broader realignment in digital infrastructure. The boundary between Bitcoin mining and AI compute is thinning, not because the technologies are converging, but because they share the same scarce foundation: power.

In that light, Core Scientific’s real value may not be its mining rigs, but the grid connections beneath them.