Latest news with #BenGagnon
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Crypto ETFs in Focus as Bitcoin Mining Boosts AI Infrastructure
As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes the digital economy, high-performance computing (HPC) is proving essential to meeting the surging demand for computational power. Bitfarms, a Bitcoin mining company, is positioning itself at the intersection of AI and energy infrastructure. In a recent interview, Ben Gagnon, CEO of Bitfarms, shared insights on how the company is expanding its capabilities beyond crypto mining to support AI workloads, particularly amid growing energy demands. Historically, Bitfarms focused on building data centers tailored for Bitcoin mining. However, as Gagnon noted, the economics of the data center business — particularly in the AI space — are significantly more attractive. "Most Bitcoin mining companies trade at a three to five times multiple," he explained, "whereas data center companies can trade at 20 to 30 times due to their contracted, long-term revenue certainty," as quoted on Yahoo Finance. This difference in valuation is driving companies like Bitfarms to evolve, capitalizing on their existing infrastructure and expertise to enter the rapidly growing HPC and AI markets. Gagnon emphasized that as NVIDIA continues to expand GPU sales, the need for infrastructure — the power and space to support those chips — will rise remarkably. While traditional data center firms have built large portfolios of small sites, Bitcoin miners have done the opposite: small portfolios of massive, power-dense facilities. That scale, Gagnon argued, is exactly what's needed for tomorrow's AI demands. Gagnon drew parallels between NVIDIA's technological leadership and the broader industry's growth trajectory. He noted that NVIDIA was a critical player during the early days of crypto, and that the broader industry followed its lead with a lag. He pointed to the launch of ChatGPT as a turning point in public understanding and adoption of AI. Before then, HPC and AI felt abstract to most. The launch of ChatGPT is almost like a gold rush in AI innovations. As AI continues its relentless expansion, companies like Bitfarms are uniquely positioned to meet the demand, not just with physical infrastructure, but with an understanding of energy-intensive computing. iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF IBIT, Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund FBTC and First Trust SkyBridge Crypto Ind and Digi Econ ETF CRPT are some of the ETFs that come under the spotlight against the above developments. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report First Trust SkyBridge Crypto Industry and Digital Economy ETF (CRPT): ETF Research Reports This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
How bitcoin miners are powering the AI boom
Some bitcoin (BTC-USD) miners are pivoting to artificial intelligence (AI) as the rapidly evolving tech's data center and power demands expand. BitFarms (BITF) CEO Ben Gagnon joins Catalysts with Madison Mills and Interactive Brokers chief strategist Steve Sosnick to dive into the phenomenon. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Catalysts here. Well, high performance computing plays a critical role in the world of artificial intelligence, providing the computational power needed to train, deploy, and scale intelligence systems quick and efficiently. The video's results bring into focus the power demands needed to support AI. Joining us to discuss about Ben Gannon. He's Bitfarm's CEO. Bitfarms is a Bitcoin mining company that is expanding existing data centre infrastructure to support HPC and AI. Workloads to meet the growing energy demands of the industry. Ben, it's always great to speak with you. We were just talking on set about how we kind of need to see the proof in the pudding when it comes to AIROI, and you are a great person to talk to about this. How and where are you seeing the investment in AI playing out in terms of high performance computing and infrastructure going forward? It's a great question. You know, for a company like us who've really been focused on building data centres for the last few years that were powering Bitcoin, uh, I think the important thing to focus on is what does these uh new business fras mean for your multiple and your evaluation? And as a Bitcoin miner, most companies in our space usually trade around a 3 to 5 times multiple, but data centre companies trade around a 20 to a 30 times multiple. So because of those contracted revenues, because of that certainty over the long period of time, you're able to unlock a lot of value for shareholders and so on, I think for the investors who are looking around at HBC and AI and trying to figure out where are the opportunities after Nvidia has had such a huge run up over the last 10 plus years. You know, where else are you going to get those those opportunities, and the reality is that as Navidia continues to sell more GPUs and as these GPUs consume more and more power, it's really the infrastructure which is going to be the bottleneck and the really key element here that's going to enable all these companies to benefit from AI. And to the question of which companies benefit from AI one thing we've been circling this morning is the idea of digital assets benefiting and cryptocurrency players benefiting as well. How are you seeing that relationship developing going forward? Oh, it's completely changed the industry almost overnight, you know, 12 months ago there were very few companies that were looking away from pivoting from Bitcoin mining and crypto into HBC and AI, but the math is really, really compelling. And when you look around at the data centre companies that exist today, there's kind of two buckets. You have the traditional data centre companies who have really been focused on building large portfolios of small sites, and then you've got the Bitcoin miners who were focused on building small portfolios of large sites. And when you look at what the data centre needs are for not only for today but for the future, you know, the reality is there's no data centre that's built today that's going to power the GPUs of tomorrow. And so the scale that Bitcoin miners have gives a very, very fast pathway and a very more cost effective approach towards building that new infrastructure a lot faster. And Ben, my co-host for the hour, Steve Salznick has a question for you as well. Hi Ben. The, the, you know, the thing that strikes me here is Nvidia, call it 34 years ago, was really the all-in company during the first sort of, I'm sorry, Bitcoin run in the first crypto run. It's almost like the, the industry's following Nvidia just a little bit late. Am I wrong in thinking that's, you know, that that that analogy is, is, is correct or incorrect, that it's sort of, you know, Nvidia, Nvidia sets the path and, and, and the, and the people who use their chips, uh, into extensively follow along. Well, Nvidia is, is really setting the pace here in terms of the technological development of these chips, um, but you know, computing is something that's growing at an exponential rate for the last 80 years since it was invented, you know, with Alan Turing and the Enigma machine in World War II. Um, you know, with Bitcoin mining, you know, we've had the very, very fast growth rate over the last 16 years and so there's a lot of things that are taking place right now where, um, the math is just really, really changing at such a point. Such a fast pace that you need to be agile, you need to be able to adapt. You need to be able to change your approach to the changing market demands because, you know, HPC and AI before Chat GPT was really for most people, a theoretical thing, um, but when Chat GPT came out and you had a consumer facing application, it became very real and very tangible for people, and that seemed to spark a gold rush, but, uh, I think from where I'm standing and from the customers' conversations that we're having. You know, the demand is is just infinite, and we really have barely even begun to scratch the surface of what's possible here with these new chips and this new kind of computing. And I hear you that you're seeing that demand be infinite, but one of the key questions for investors is whether that demand is going to be infinite for Nvidia. If we do see soft earnings results from Nvidia this evening, how does that impact your business and your confidence in that demand picture for AI? Well, the bottleneck on growth for Compute has always been power outside of the silicone shortage of 2021. So chips are available, they're always going to be available, and Nvidia develops at such a fast pace that you know there's a new generation of chips roughly every 12 months. But at the back end you always need to have the power to plug in those chips and operate them so that you can actually. value out of them and you can generate that return on your investment in the GPUs. So from our side, we haven't seen any reduction in demand even when the Deepse news came out a couple of months ago, there was no reduction in demand. There was no slowing down of these infrastructure buildouts because they're something that may be taking 2 to 5 years to build out one of these large data centre campuses, and you really can't get distracted by a headline that's going to put you back. Ben, really appreciate you joining us and giving us that context. Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
How bitcoin miners are powering the AI boom
Some bitcoin (BTC-USD) miners are pivoting to artificial intelligence (AI) as the rapidly evolving tech's data center and power demands expand. BitFarms (BITF) CEO Ben Gagnon joins Catalysts with Madison Mills and Interactive Brokers chief strategist Steve Sosnick to dive into the phenomenon. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Catalysts here. Sign in to access your portfolio
Hamilton Spectator
01-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Bitfarms Provides April 2025 Production and Operations Update
- New private debt facility with a division of Macquarie Group for up to $300 million to fund initial HPC project development at Panther Creek, validating the attractiveness of Bitfarms' potential HPC data center development pipeline- —Operational hashrate of 19.5 EHuM and fleet efficiency of 19 w/TH– This news release constitutes a 'designated news release' for the purposes of the Company's second amended and restated prospectus supplement dated December 17, 2024, to its short form base shelf prospectus dated November 10, 2023. TORONTO, Ontario, May 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bitfarms Ltd. (NASDAQ/TSX: BITF), a global energy and compute infrastructure company, today issued its latest monthly production report. All financial references are in U.S. dollars. CEO Ben Gagnon stated, 'In April, we secured an attractive financing facility for up to $300 million with a division of Macquarie Group, one of the world's largest and most reputable infrastructure investors. These funds will be used solely to fund HPC data center development at our Panther Creek location. Panther Creek has the scale, location, power availability, and fiber connectivity that we expect will attract notable HPC counterparties. This site also has the quickest energization timeline of our three PA sites, and we are already working on the Site Map Plans, development timelines and renderings needed in order to begin to build out the powered land. 'We are confident this partnership will not only accelerate our buildout at Panther Creek, but also open doors to future opportunities with Macquarie as we look to scale our project and potentially expand to other sites within our portfolio. Amidst the surging AI revolution and the growing demand for power and infrastructure, this financing arrives at a pivotal time. We believe the analyses provided by our strategic partners, ASG and WWT, along with Macquarie's due diligence and industry expertise, validate our HPC opportunity thesis at Panther Creek, strengthen our HPC pipeline and strategy, and position Bitfarms as a market leader in sourcing and developing large-scale, high-quality HPC data center projects. 'Our Bitcoin business is strong, and we remain bullish on mining economics with our newly upgraded mining fleet. We have no need nor plans for a large miner purchase in 2025 or 2026, enabling us to focus our efforts on developing U.S. energy and HPC infrastructure, which we believe will create lasting shareholder value.' April 2025 Select Operating Highlights April 2025 Financial Update About Bitfarms Ltd. Founded in 2017, Bitfarms is a global energy and compute infrastructure company that develops, owns, and operates vertically integrated HPC and Bitcoin mining data centers. Bitfarms currently has 15 operating Bitcoin data centers situated in four countries: the United States, Canada, Argentina and Paraguay. Powered primarily by environmentally friendly hydro-electric and long-term power contracts, Bitfarms is committed to using sustainable and often underutilized energy infrastructure. To learn more about Bitfarms' events, developments, and online communities: Glossary of Terms Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains certain 'forward-looking information' and 'forward-looking statements' (collectively, 'forward-looking information') that are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release and are covered by safe harbors under Canadian and United States securities laws. The statements and information in this release regarding the North American energy and compute infrastructure strategy, opportunities relating to the potential of the Company's data centers for HPC/AI opportunities, the potential to deploy the proceeds of the Macquarie Group financing facility at the Panther Creek location, the merits and ability to secure long-term contracts associated with HPC/AI customers, the success of the Company's HPC/AI strategy in general and its ability to capitalize on growing demand for AI computing while securing predictable cash flows and revenue diversification, the Company's energy pipeline and its anticipated megawatt growth, the Company's ability to drive greater shareholder value, projected growth, target hashrate, and other statements regarding future growth, plans and objectives of the Company are forward-looking information. Any statements that involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as 'expects', or 'does not expect', 'is expected', 'anticipates' or 'does not anticipate', 'plans', 'budget', 'scheduled', 'forecasts', 'estimates', 'prospects', 'believes' or 'intends' or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results 'may' or 'could', 'would', 'might' or 'will' be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking information. This forward-looking information is based on assumptions and estimates of management of Bitfarms at the time they were made, and involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of Bitfarms to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors, risks and uncertainties include, among others: an inability to apply the Company's data centers to HPC/AI opportunities on a profitable basis; a failure to secure long-term contracts associated with HPC/AI customers on terms which are economic or at all; the construction and operation of new facilities may not occur as currently planned, or at all; expansion of existing facilities may not materialize as currently anticipated, or at all; an inability to satisfy the Panther Creek location related milestones which are conditions to loan drawdowns under the Macquarie Group financing facility; an inability to deploy the proceeds of the Macquarie Group financing facility to generate positive returns at the Panther Creek location; new miners may not perform up to expectations; revenue may not increase as currently anticipated, or at all; the ongoing ability to successfully mine digital currency is not assured; failure of the equipment upgrades to be installed and operated as planned; the availability of additional power may not occur as currently planned, or at all; expansion may not materialize as currently anticipated, or at all; the power purchase agreements and economics thereof may not be as advantageous as expected; potential environmental cost and regulatory penalties due to the operation of the former Stronghold plants which entail environmental risk and certain additional risk factors particular to the former business and operations of Stronghold including, land reclamation requirements may be burdensome and expensive, changes in tax credits related to coal refuse power generation could have a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition, results of operations and future development efforts, competition in power markets may have a material adverse effect on the results of operations, cash flows and the market value of the assets, the business is subject to substantial energy regulation and may be adversely affected by legislative or regulatory changes, as well as liability under, or any future inability to comply with, existing or future energy regulations or requirements, the operations are subject to a number of risks arising out of the threat of climate change, and environmental laws, energy transitions policies and initiatives and regulations relating to emissions and coal residue management, which could result in increased operating and capital costs and reduce the extent of business activities, operation of power generation facilities involves significant risks and hazards customary to the power industry that could have a material adverse effect on our revenues and results of operations, and there may not have adequate insurance to cover these risks and hazards, employees, contractors, customers and the general public may be exposed to a risk of injury due to the nature of the operations, limited experience with carbon capture programs and initiatives and dependence on third-parties, including consultants, contractors and suppliers to develop and advance carbon capture programs and initiatives, and failure to properly manage these relationships, or the failure of these consultants, contractors and suppliers to perform as expected, could have a material adverse effect on the business, prospects or operations; the digital currency market; the ability to successfully mine digital currency; it may not be possible to profitably liquidate the current digital currency inventory, or at all; a decline in digital currency prices may have a significant negative impact on operations; an increase in network difficulty may have a significant negative impact on operations; the volatility of digital currency prices; the anticipated growth and sustainability of hydroelectricity for the purposes of cryptocurrency mining in the applicable jurisdictions; the inability to maintain reliable and economical sources of power to operate cryptocurrency mining assets; the risks of an increase in electricity costs, cost of natural gas, changes in currency exchange rates, energy curtailment or regulatory changes in the energy regimes in the jurisdictions in which Bitfarms operates and the potential adverse impact on profitability; future capital needs and the ability to complete current and future financings, including Bitfarms' ability to utilize an at-the-market offering program ( 'ATM Program') and the prices at which securities may be sold in such ATM Program, as well as capital market conditions in general; share dilution resulting from an ATM Program and from other equity issuances; the risks of debt leverage and the ability to service and eventually repay the Macquarie Group financing facility; volatile securities markets impacting security pricing unrelated to operating performance; the risk that a material weakness in internal control over financial reporting could result in a misstatement of financial position that may lead to a material misstatement of the annual or interim consolidated financial statements if not prevented or detected on a timely basis; risks related to the Company ceasing to qualify as an 'emerging growth company'; risks related to unsolicited investor interest, takeover proposals, shareholder activism or proxy contests relating to the election of directors; historical prices of digital currencies and the ability to mine digital currencies that will be consistent with historical prices; and the adoption or expansion of any regulation or law that will prevent Bitfarms from operating its business, or make it more costly to do so. For further information concerning these and other risks and uncertainties, refer to Bitfarms' filings on (which are also available on the website of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the 'SEC') at ), including the management's discussion & analysis for the year-ended December 31, 2024 Although Bitfarms has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, including factors that are currently unknown to or deemed immaterial by Bitfarms. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate as actual results, and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Bitfarms does not undertake any obligation to revise or update any forward-looking information other than as required by law. Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, or any other securities exchange or regulatory authority accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Investor Relations Contact: Bitfarms Tracy Krumme SVP, Head of IR & Corp. Comms. +1 786-671-5638 tkrumme@ Media Contact: Bitfarms Caroline Brady Baker Director, Communications cbaker@
Bloomberg
11-03-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Crypto Hit By Market Upheaval
"Bloomberg Crypto" covers the people, transactions, and technology shaping the world of decentralized finance. Today's guests: Ava Labs President John Wu, Bitfarms CEO Ben Gagnon, Bloomberg's Vildana Hajric and Olga Kharif. (Source: Bloomberg)
