BlackRock is warning investors that the artificial intelligence infrastructure buildout will consume up to 24% of U.S. electricity by 2030, a projection that threatens to displace Bitcoin miners from the cheap power markets they have long relied on for profitability.
What Happened: AI Data Centers Challenge Miners
In its 2026 Global Outlook, the BlackRock Investment Institute argued that AI development is pushing against physical limits and identified electricity as the constraint investors are underpricing.
The firm cited $5 trillion to $8 trillion in total capital spending intentions for AI infrastructure through 2030.
Data center electricity demand has tripled over the past decade, according to a Department of Energy announcement tied to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Projections from EPRI put U.S. data centers at 4.6% to 9.1% of national generation by 2030.
BlackRock's 24% figure sits at the aggressive end of analyst estimates.
Bitcoin miners have built their business model around operational flexibility. Riot Platforms disclosed in a 2023 SEC filing that it curtailed power usage by more than 95% during peak demand periods in August 2023 to support grid reliability in Texas.
AI data centers operate differently. They require constant power and tight uptime guarantees.
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Why It Matters: Grid Access Becomes Scarce
The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimated crypto mining represented about 0.6% to 2.3% of U.S. electricity consumption in 2024.
That share is small in percentage terms but large enough to affect grid planning and local politics.
When power markets tighten, miners face disadvantages in the competition for grid access. AI infrastructure carries stronger political support, framed as essential to national competitiveness, defense, and productivity. Mining is more easily characterized as optional.
Some firms are adapting by pivoting from hashing to hosting AI workloads. The logic is straightforward: companies that already own land, power rights, and substation access possess what AI developers need most.
NERC has warned about reliability threats from rapid load growth tied to AI, data centers, and electrification colliding with generator retirements.
The likely outcome is a bifurcated mining industry, with some operators integrating into grid planning through demand-response agreements while others convert their energy positions into broader compute infrastructure.
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