Core Scientific indicates that as the business shifts towards artificial intelligence and high-performance computing infrastructure, the company expects to exit Bitcoin mining by the end of 2026.
Core Scientific Chief Financial Officer Jim Nygaard stated during the third-quarter earnings conference call on Thursday: "We expect to wrap up the process in the fourth quarter and enter the new year in 2027 as a pure high-density hosting service provider."
Core Scientific It was previously disclosed in the July quarterly report that, as the company's own mining operations continue to shrink, managed mining will be discontinued on December 31st. This announcement sets a deadline for its complete withdrawal from Bitcoin mining.
The latest quarterly results show that there has been a significant change in the company's business focus. In the third quarter, revenue from self-operated mining decreased from $57.4 million in the same period last year to $12.3 million; revenue from providing hosting services for other miners also fell from $8.7 million to $5.2 million.
In the third quarter of Core Scientific, Bitcoin mining contributed only $17.5 million to the total revenue of $232.9 million, accounting for 7.5%, while the income from hosting services amounted to $215.4 million.
Nygaard indicates that as of the end of September, the number of the company's online mining machines had decreased by nearly 50% compared to the end of 2025.
The transformation of Core Scientific to a custody business for AI began in 2024. In March of that year, the company signed its first custody agreement with CoreWeave, and later in June, it announced an even larger transaction.
At that time, Core Scientific described AI as an expansion beyond its mining business. Its announcement in June 2024 emphasized that the company would retain its Bitcoin mining capacity.
By December 2025, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal, Core Scientific had already begun considering a gradual withdrawal from Bitcoin mining operations by 2028.
Thereafter, the mining economy faced further pressure. Core Scientific indicates that due to the weakening price of Bitcoin, hashprice reaching a historical low, and the decline in the value of digital asset mining equipment in the secondary market, the company provided for an impairment of $266.5 million related to mining assets in the first quarter of 2026.
In the second quarter, the company terminated its mining equipment agreements with Block and Proto, and as a result, recognized a loss of $41.9 million as part of its transformation process.
As the results of the U.S. mid-term elections bring new uncertainties to companies expanding AI infrastructure, this exit plan has been introduced.
Reuters reported on Wednesday that among the Democratic Party's major victories in the mid-term elections, there were also candidates who opposed data center construction who achieved success as well.
The rebound in sentiment is mainly focused on electricity bills and the demand of large-scale facilities for local resources.
Cointelegraph has contacted Core Scientific to seek comments on this matter.
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