Crypto mining has remained a hot industry, even as crypto prices themselves have been in decline. Massive mining farms have been plugging along, hashing out problems and storing their rewards in anticipation of a bullish resurgence. However, many miners are also jumping on a new trend. Maybe it’s pessimism toward crypto, maybe it’s optimism toward new venues. Regardless, the pivot that some crypto miners — Hut 8 (NASDAQ:HUT) included — are taking toward artificial intelligence is something worth looking into. Could HUT stock be the next AI play?
Crypto mining infamously takes a lot of power. In fact, it takes so much power that energy consumption was a primary concern driving China’s all-out ban on cryptocurrency. Energy consumption has also provoked lots of concerns from U.S. lawmakers.
As it turns out, AI is not much different. Of course, the algorithms of AI tools need to learn, so feeding them as much data and information as possible is a daunting and energy-consumptive practice. That’s why the programs continue to learn long after they’re brought to market. OpenAI developers will likely keep feeding ChatGPT datasets long after the recent craze over its services.
This realization is prompting a change in priorities for lots of people. Developers in the blockchain space are starting to incorporate more AI elements into their projects. This has created its own crypto-investing niche, helping to lever up the market as a whole in early 2023. However, there are also existing companies who also want in on the hype — and they’re making interesting changes that could be big selling points.
HUT Stock Looks More Promising With AI Turn
Hut 8 is one of the older crypto companies leading the way into the AI market. As a result, investors might find HUT stock to be one of the best ways to both invest in AI and profit off of crypto mining.
The company, which mines crypto out of Canada, is looking to make its thousands of crypto mining rigs operate in the most profitable way possible. With crypto mining difficulty and the total number of miners at an all-time high, this is no easy feat. However, the surge in AI popularity is helping Hut 8 get savvy.
Specifically, Hut 8 has been changing many of its crypto-mining-only machines to ones that can facilitate machine learning needed to grow out AI. Hive Blockchain (NASDAQ:HIVE), another crypto mining company, has been doing much of the same.
This switch isn’t coming out of left field, mind you. Crypto miners have been looking at ways to expand the capacity of their equipment for the better part of a year now. Previously, cloud computing had been one of the most popular ways for these companies to diversify their offerings.
For AI developers, there’s a large need for lots of hardware. Moreover, there’s the logistical issues of the cooling and other infrastructure that comes with maintaining equipment. Outsourcing this machine learning computing to crypto miners means they do not need to own the machinery themselves. Plus, the hardware is already set up and provenly operational.
Hut 8’s pivot is still news to investors. Hopefully, the move will be well-received and lead to some solid gains for HUT stock. In the meantime, HUT is still in the green by more than 120% year-to-date (YTD). HIVE stock has also been kicking off 2023 well, up nearly 100% YTD.
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On the date of publication, Brenden Rearick did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
