Galaxy Research Head: Bitcoin Mining Centralizes While AI Moves in the Opposite Direction

Two Diverging Paths: BTC Mining and Artificial Intelligence

Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy Digital, has drawn attention to a striking asymmetry between Bitcoin mining and the artificial intelligence sector. According to Thorn, the two industries are heading in fundamentally opposite directions when it comes to centralization.

«bitcoin mining began decentralized (CPUs, GPUs) and became centralized (ASICs, industrial-scale farms) AI may follow the opposite path: it started centralized in giant hosted clusters, but as frontier model gains slow (from data scarcity, context limits, and memory bottlenecks)…» — Alex Thorn (@intangiblecoins), original post

Thorn pointed out that in Bitcoin's early days, anyone with a personal computer could mine the cryptocurrency using standard CPUs or GPUs. As network difficulty climbed and ASIC hardware emerged, mining evolved into a highly industrialized activity dominated by large-scale operators with access to cheap electricity.

Why This Matters

Thorn's observation touches on a fundamental architectural question for two of the most significant technology sectors. Bitcoin mining traveled from home desktops to industrial-scale farms — a clear centralization trajectory. AI, Thorn argues, could undergo the reverse transformation. Open-source models are gradually catching up with proprietary ones in terms of performance while becoming smaller and cheaper to run. This could eventually enable artificial intelligence to operate directly on end-user devices rather than relying on cloud-based clusters.

For the crypto market, this trend carries direct implications: some Bitcoin miners are already pivoting their infrastructure to serve AI workloads, and the convergence of the two industries continues to deepen.

Edge AI Market: Numbers and Outlook

Deploying AI models on local devices is known as Edge AI. According to Grand View Research, the sector reached a market size of $24.9 billion at the end of 2025. Analysts project this figure will grow to $29.9 billion in the current year and surpass $118 billion by 2033.

Key growth drivers include the proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, which generate sustained demand for real-time data processing, as well as growing emphasis on data privacy and the adoption of AI-driven automation across multiple industries.

Miners Pivoting Toward AI

Thorn's thesis on mining centralization is reinforced by recent market developments. In late March, analysts at CoinShares identified a capitulation event affecting 20% of Bitcoin miners. Declining profitability across the industry is pushing miners to increasingly repurpose their infrastructure for AI-related tasks — further evidence of the two sectors converging.

The result is a dual dynamic: large industrial miners tighten their grip on BTC production, while the AI space potentially moves toward a model where computing power is distributed across edge devices owned by individual users.