Written by: Heart of Computing Power

From April 27 to 29, 2026, the Bitcoin 2026 conference was held at the Venetian Expo in Las Vegas.

On stage, Michael Saylor, co-founder and executive chairman of Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), passionately delivered his iconic Bitcoin-themed speech, stating that digital credit should "push Bitcoin up to $10 million each."

Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, announced an optimistic price target of $125,000 for Bitcoin by the end of the year.

Eric Trump, the second son of Trump, said, "I absolutely believe Bitcoin will reach $1 million."

Industry leaders such as MARA CEO Fred Thiel and Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino were also present.

Meanwhile, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and CFTC Chairman Mike Selig made a groundbreaking appearance as current regulators, and White House crypto advisor Patrick Witt previewed "strategic Bitcoin reserve" plans that would see major progress within weeks.

Official data stated that over 40,000 attendees were present over the three days, with more than one million global online viewers.

However, when stepping into the exhibition hall of the Venetian Expo, a subtle change was lingering in the air.

The belief in Bitcoin remained fervent, but the narrative focus of the industry had quietly shifted.

(Image 1: Michael Saylor delivering the keynote speech at the main forum of Bitcoin 2026, with an audience packed)

1. Faith on stage recharged, empty booths below

On April 27, 2026, the Bitcoin 2026 conference opened at the Venetian Expo, with over 40,000 participants.

As an annual barometer of the Bitcoin ecosystem, the Bitcoin conference has traditionally served as a core intersection for miners, mining machine manufacturers, investment institutions, technology developers, and policymakers.

In 2021, Miami had 11,000 participants. In 2025, Las Vegas had 35,000 participants.

The official statement this year claimed an attendance of 40,000, with over one million global online viewers.

The official agenda remained fervent.

Topics included the US strategic Bitcoin reserve, Bitcoin education, Bitcoin network resistance to quantum computing, clean energy mining, the synergy of Bitcoin mining machines and AI computing power, and the transformation of mining sites into data centers.

Michael Saylor and Arthur Hayes, along with Eric Trump, raised bullish sentiments in the main venue, driving the atmosphere to a climax.

But another picture was simultaneously visible within the exhibition hall.

According to several exhibitors, actual foot traffic had obviously shrunk compared to last year.

Insiders said, "The staff in front of the booths outnumbered the actual clients looking to buy equipment, with others just being Bitcoin enthusiasts coming to learn."

Multiple exhibitors confirmed that the on-site foot traffic had plummeted by over 30% compared to last year. The audience occupancy rate for ordinary speakers was just one-fifth, and there were significantly fewer exhibitors than last year.

Last year's bull market saw target customers everywhere in the expo; this year's exhibitors were looking everywhere for clients.

Some clues can be seen from the sponsorship wall.

This year's sponsor list included major mining machine manufacturers, many container brands from home and abroad, as well as domestic compliant exchanges and the three major listed mining companies in the US.

However, compared to last year's list, some heavyweight sponsors from last year were missing this time, and there was a noticeable increase in brands related to data centers and AI infrastructure.

(Image 2: Sponsor display wall at Bitcoin 2026 conference)

Beliefs were still being elevated on stage, yet the booths below were desolate.

Money and attention have changed direction.

2. A Tour of Mining Company Booths—Mining Equipment Remains, AI Has Arrived

Despite the chilly winds in the industry, the exhibitor lineup at this conference still covered every facet of the Bitcoin mining supply chain.

From large mining enterprises to mining machine manufacturers, and from overseas container brands to top domestic manufacturers, the brand competition inside and outside the Las Vegas Expo itself is a vivid illustration of the industry's transformation period.

In the camp of large mining enterprises, CleanSpark's booth stood out. This North American mining company, known for its low-carbon hydroelectric power, this year shifted its focus on its exhibition panel from merely promoting its Bitcoin output to the slogan "OPTIMIZING POWER INTELLIGENCE," making its AI/HPC strategic transformation visibly clear.

(Image 3: CleanSpark booth—"Optimizing Power Intelligence" slogan hints at AI transformation)

In addition, Antalpha, as a BTC ecosystem service platform, recently received investment from Tether, demonstrating its institutional-level Bitcoin financial service capabilities at this conference.

(Image 4: Antalpha BTC ecosystem service platform booth)

Mining machine manufacturers remain a "hardcore" focus at each Bitcoin conference. At this expo, Bitmain, as the world's largest ASIC mining machine manufacturer, continued to hold a pivotal position, with its latest Antminer S23 series still a technical benchmark at the exhibition.

(Image 5: On-site communication at Bitmain booth)

Bitdeer’s booth was even more direct—displaying "Bitcoin mining & AI Cloud." As one of the pioneers in the global cloud computing platform, Bitdeer showcased its dual-drive strategy at this conference: left hand Bitcoin mining, right hand AI cloud computing. The content played in loops on the booth included footage of traditional mining sites as well as rendering images of data centers transformed into GPU clusters.

(Image 6: Bitdeer booth—dual-drive of Bitcoin mining and AI cloud computing)

Meanwhile, Shenyu Mining Machine under Bitmain also presented its water-cooled mining machines and integrated container solutions, with the slogan "Mining Forward, Together" suggesting that the manufacturers are also seeking cooperation with data center businesses.

In the infrastructure field, Intelliflex's booth was eye-catching. This brand, which focuses on "Innovative Data Solutions," showcased its core components of modular data centers. Visually, its products have surpassed the traditional mining machine framework and are closer to the delivery form of enterprise-level AI data centers.

(Image 7: Intelliflex large modular data center physical display)

Moonshot, a brand focused on data center infrastructure engineering, clearly listed its complete product line on its display board, from UL-certified distribution cabinets, transformers to modular data centers. This indicates that even traditional "mining construction" companies now view modular data centers as a core growth direction.

(Image 8: Moonshot booth—product line including modular data centers and other infrastructure products)

3. A Great Shift in Computing Power, AI's Physical Devouring of the Crypto World

In fact, the buyers in the cryptocurrency circle haven't gone far; they just changed the direction of their purchases.

This is also related to the bleakness of the Bitcoin market.

In the first quarter of 2026, the average cash cost for listed mining companies for a single Bitcoin rose to about $79,995. The price of computing power dropped to historical lows of $28-30/PetaHash/day.

High electricity costs made unprofitable mining a reality.

Thus, although Bitcoin flags were flying in the Las Vegas Expo, the big players' hearts were long gone.

In the first quarter of this year, major listed mining companies secretly signed AI computing power contracts worth over $70 billion.

A significant migration masked as cryptocurrency is tearing between miners.

All exhibitors were tacitly tearing off their "pure miner" labels.

The most drastic action came from Bitdeer. This giant submitted a stunning report in February 2026, emptying its treasury of 943.1 Bitcoins to achieve "zero holdings."

They directed the cash outflow along with an additional $300 million raised into AI.

The Heart of Computing Power visited Bitdeer's booth and had an in-depth discussion with staff about Bitdeer's strategies in mining and AI. Through discussions, the Heart of Computing Power summarized Bitdeer’s current core strategy, which is essentially using cash flow from Bitcoin mining to establish an early position in the power infrastructure for the AI era.

Its underlying logic is not complex: Bitcoin and AI represent two certain main lines for the next decade, and the only common constraint between them is one—electric power, centered around this core constraint.

Bitdeer has built a three-layer progressive structure: The bottom layer is electricity assets—location, grid connection, and operational capabilities accumulated from long-term mining operations, which are essentially resources obtained through time; the middle layer is cost and efficiency control—constantly compressing the energy efficiency boundaries through the SEALMINER self-developed system to lock in the output capabilities of unit electricity, ensuring stable cash flow characteristics for the mining business; the upper layer is the re-pricing of computing power—extending computing power from the production of cryptocurrency assets to AI computing services based on the same electrical foundation, realizing the benefit leap of unit energy.

Overall, Bitdeer is not merely a single mining company; it is constructing a computing power infrastructure platform centered on electricity—occupying a crucial position in resource allocation and value distribution between the demand sides of Bitcoin and AI.

Bitdeer is not playing chess in a vacuum; the entire North American mining landscape is already shifting.

Right now, an industrial squeeze is occurring in North America, where AI data centers are devouring the electricity and facilities originally designated for cryptocurrency.

Insiders noted, "Who is still foolish enough to rely only on mining for profit? The current strategy is to rent land and grid resources to major AI firms and become rental landlords."

The three major listed mining companies in North America, MARA Holdings, CleanSpark, and Riot Platforms, are indeed doing the same thing—turning mining sites into AI data centers.

The most aggressive among them is MARA Holdings.

They directly sold over 10,000 Bitcoins in March. After cashing out $1.1 billion, MARA immediately partnered with capital to form a joint venture to convert all their electrical capacity into AI data centers. They even did not spare the European market, directly spending to acquire relevant enterprises in France.

CleanSpark's strategies are even more astute.

This company reported a net loss of $370 million in the first quarter due to Bitcoin price fluctuations. However, interestingly, during the earnings call, the management painted a picture of several upcoming AI deals, and the stock price miraculously rebounded. As long as it holds onto 1.8 GW of low-cost energy assets, the capital market is willing to pay for their AI transformation.

Can turning a mining site into an AI center yield extraordinarily high profits?

The answer is written in Riot Platforms' contracts.

This mining giant has just signed a 10-year leasing agreement with chip giant AMD. If fully utilized, this contract would be worth up to $1 billion. To completely secure the grid capacity in Texas, Riot even splurged nearly $100 million to purchase permanent property rights for 200 acres of land, saving future rent.

Insiders believe: "Providing data center hosting for giants like AMD yields gross profits per megawatt that are 2.5 times that of traditional mining; it's obvious what to choose."

Therefore, it's not just these three giants.

From Core Scientific to Hut 8, tens of billions to even over a hundred billion dollars in AI infrastructure leases are being signed at a frantic pace.

It is forecasted that by the end of this year, the revenue share of AI business in these listed mining companies will soar from 30% to 70%.

The most valuable asset in the hands of mining companies is no longer the mining machines, but electricity.

However, transforming mining sites into AI data centers is not as simple as changing a sign.

As North America's major miners anxiously aim to renovate old mining sites, they find themselves glancing around the exhibition hall and finally stopping in front of a Chinese booth.

4. The "Outlier" at the Bitcoin Conference, Chinese Modular Data Center

In the vast Las Vegas venue, a Chinese brand, Fourier, amazed the big names in the American mining industry.

Notable Twitter influencer and North American Bitcoin miner Bruce J tweeted after touring around: "This year’s Bitcoin conference in Las Vegas is indeed quite dull, the only highlight I saw was this modular AI data center. I must say, the Chinese are quite impressive in product innovation."

(Image 9: North American Twitter influencer Bruce J praised the Chinese modular AI data center product)

Among all exhibitors, Fourier is not the only one working on modular data centers.

Even traditional "mine construction companies" are turning in this direction.

Intelliflex showcased core components of modular data centers, with product forms having moved beyond the traditional mining machine framework, now closer to enterprise-level AI data center delivery standards.

Moonshot listed its complete product line from UL-certified distribution cabinets, transformers to modular data centers on its display.

Why have modular data centers suddenly become so popular in North America?

In fact, this tweet precisely points out the pain points of current US capital.

The construction cycle for traditional AI data centers typically takes 3 to 5 years, while the modular solutions offered by Chinese supply chains compress deployment time to just a few months.

For North American consortiums that are eager to bet on AI and hold expensive GPUs, time is of the essence.

The sooner the equipment is powered on, the better the opportunity captured.

The value of modular solutions lies here; it allows venues originally designed for mining machines to be transformed into AI data centers compatible with GPU clusters at lower costs and faster speeds.

5. Standing Firm in Adverse Conditions, Quietly "Picking Up Bargains"

Up to this point, the situation seems that the Bitcoin trend is fading, with everyone rushing towards AI.

However, after walking around the venue and chatting with those still at the poker table, we discovered another side.

Zoey from SpiderPool is a "flying person," often mingling at various industry exhibitions. After a round in Las Vegas, she summed up a very intuitive feeling: "Everyone is out of money."

The result of having no money is to cut costs to the bone. Zoey revealed a harsh detail: "Before, we were looking for clients; now, clients are actively seeking us. They are comparing rates repeatedly across various mining pools to minimize costs."

In this winter, miners are striving to save every penny.

So, what are the surviving giants doing? The Heart of Computing Power arrived at the BitFuFu booth.

After an in-depth discussion with the booth manager about their views on this Bitcoin2026 conference, the BitFuFu booth manager indicated: This year’s BTC conference in the US wasn't as lively as last year, but it lacked many spectators; those who came had clear objectives, such as buying mining machines, seeking hosting, or exploring cooperation.

Their mining machine solutions in the US are quite popular.

Currently, mining companies need to rely on more detailed operations to maintain profits. For example, by optimizing firmware to increase mining output, using next-generation mining machines to improve energy efficiency, while also seeking mining resources with lower electricity prices.

Recently, the demand from AI for data centers is huge, and many mining firms are transitioning to HPC/AI, but many mining sites and regions are not actually suitable for AI's high concurrency and low latency requirements. This has instead given them the opportunity to find some excellent mining resources while the market is relatively cool.

The BitFuFu booth manager pointed out: Although market sentiment is relatively low now, they will continue to remain bullish on Bitcoin and uphold mining.

Their self-mining + cloud computing business model gives them relatively more resilience, and their financial situation is more stable.

In the long run, as institutional funds continue to flow in, Bitcoin is decoupling from speculative funds, and its value will increasingly manifest solidly; they are very optimistic about Bitcoin’s future.

(Image 10: BitFuFu booth—showing the brand and technical strength of a one-stop mining platform)

In the exhibition area of the Bitcoin conference, many American families came with their children. The children gathered around the glass displays, curiously observing Satoshi Nakamoto's installation art and experiencing the novel elements of Bitcoin like mining machines and the Lightning Network.

In front of Bitcoin Magazine's classic cover wall, people took photos as keepsakes. T-shirts and peripheral products printed with Satoshi Nakamoto's quotes were selling well.

(Image 12: American parents finding Bitcoin a cool thing, willing to let their children learn about it from a young age.)

Bitcoin remains a spiritual totem for many, and the smiles of children at the exhibition confirm the belief transmission about Bitcoin between two generations.

However, the computing power and electricity in the hands of mining companies do not talk about faith; they are heading towards the AI new battlefield guided by profit.

At this crossroads of industry transformation, the logic of the Chinese supply chain has also evolved.

However, after this clamor of migration, what remains are the true believers.

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