Meta and Microsoft continue going big on AI Spending. Here's how bitcoin miners could benefit

Markets Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Meta and Microsoft continue going big on AI Spending. Here's how bitcoin miners could benefit In its fourth quarter earnings report, Meta said capital spending plans for 2026 should be in the range of $115-$135 billion, well ahead of consensus forecasts. By Helene Braun , AI Boost | Edited by Stephen Alpher Jan 28, 2026, 11:07 p.m. Make us preferred on Google No sign of AI spending slowdown (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) What to know : Fourth-quarter earnings results from Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta (META) suggested no slowdown in AI-related spending. Microsoft highlighted that AI is now one of its largest businesses and pointed to long-term growth. Meta projected sharply higher capital spending in 2026 to fund its Meta Super Intelligence Labs and core business. Shares of bitcoin mining companies that have shifted business plans to cater to artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure were big winners in 2025, a run they continued into the new year. And if big tech's earnings this year are any indications, they might continue to reap the benefit of the pivot. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms & conditions and privacy policy . Fourth-quarter results and 2026 outlooks released Wednesday evening from tech giants Meta (META) and Microsoft (MSFT) — both of which put AI investment at the center of their growth strategies for this year and beyond — suggest no slowdown in the AI spending binge. “We are only at the beginning phases of AI diffusion, and already Microsoft has built an AI business that is larger than some of our biggest franchises,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. “We are pushing the frontier across our entire AI stack to drive new value for our customers and partners.” Meta, meanwhile, forecast 2026 capital spending of $115-$135 billion, well ahead of consensus forecasts for $110 billion. Read more: GPU Gold Rush: Why Bitcoin Miners Are Powering AI’s Expansion Facing a profit squeeze from bitcoin's last halving event, which cut miners' rewards by half, as well as higher competition and power costs, mining firms have pivoted to use their data centers to host AI and cloud computing machines. The move has saved many miners from going under, as it has allowed them to diversify their revenue sources beyond mining bitcoin and reap the profits of the continued AI-related hype. In November, Iren (IREN) announced a multiyear cloud-services contract with Microsoft to support AI workloads using advanced Nvidia (NVDA) chips, signaling a deeper shift into high-performance computing. Around the same time, Cipher Mining (CIFR) signed a deal with Amazon (AMZN) to deliver 300 megawatts of capacity to Amazon Web Services (AWS), one of the largest infrastructure commitments yet from a bitcoin miner looking to tap into the AI boom. IREN was up 4.9% on Wednesday ahead of the results, bringing its year-to-date gain to 47% and year-over-year advance to $524%. Up 1.2% on Wednesday, CIFR is now up 17% in 2026 and 322% year-over-year. Another miner that has so far successfully pivoted to AI infrastructure and high-performance computing is Hut 8 (HUT), which is up 26% year-to-date and 230% year-over-year. The next test of the sustainability of AI- and cloud-computing-related optimism will be Nvidia's next report on Feb. 25. Read more: Bitcoin miners chase AI demand as Nvidia says Rubin is already in production Artificial Intelligence Bitcoin Mining Microsoft AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards . For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy . More For You Pudgy Penguins: A New Blueprint for Tokenized Culture By CoinDesk Research Dec 30, 2025 Commissioned by Pudgy Penguins Pudgy Penguins is building a multi-vertical consumer IP platform — combining phygital products, games, NFTs and PENGU to monetize culture at scale. What to know : Pudgy Penguins is emerging as one of the strongest NFT-native brands of this cycle, shifting from speculative “digital luxury goods” into a multi-vertical consumer IP platform. Its strategy is to acquire users through mainstream channels first; toys, retail partnerships and viral media, then onboard them into Web3 through games, NFTs and the PENGU token. The ecosystem now spans phygital products (> $13M retail sales and >1M units sold), games and experiences (Pudgy Party surpassed 500k downloads in two weeks), and a widely distributed token (airdropped to 6M+ wallets). While the market is currently pricing Pudgy at a premium relative to traditional IP peers, sustained success depends on execution across retail expansion, gaming adoption and deeper token utility. View Full Report More For You Bitcoin remains subdued as gold races to new record above $5,400 following Jerome Powell remarks By Krisztian Sandor | Edited by Stephen Alpher 1 hour ago Gold fans rushed in to buy as the Fed chair said he took no macro signal from the raging bull market in precious metals. What to know : Gold soared to a new record on Wednesday afternoon, quickening its rise as Fed Chair Jerome Powell spoke at his post-meeting press conference. Bitcoin continues to trade in a very tight range around $89,000. "Crypto is underperforming some of the very assets it was designed to supplant," said one analyst. 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