The massive investment in artificial intelligence is giving Bitcoin sleepless nights.
The redirection of investor capital away from the cryptocurrency to AI doesn’t seem to be slowing down either.
As an illustration of the magnitude of this shift, at the end of 2025 almost 50% of global venture funding was going to companies specialising in AI.
With fewer inflows, Bitcoin’s traditional investor base is diminishing, even though its value remains high.
It still maintains the status of the world’s biggest and best-known cryptocurrency.
As such, even with the challenges faced the bitcoin price USD payoff carries significant weight.
Mining the miners
The most troubling aspect for Bitcoin is that its own miners are turning to AI.
According to Bernstein Research analysts, these miners are now an “integral part” of AI’s value chain.
By comparison, Bitcoin mining is increasingly seen as unprofitable.
In the last quarter of 2025 the hashprice, which measures profitability for Bitcoin miners, dropped below $50.
Though Bitcoin remains above $85,000, miners are making less today than when it was $20,000 cheaper.
The decreased incentive for miners can also be traced back to Bitcoin’s 2024 halving of block rewards.
This created more of a dependency on transaction fees but, because Bitcoin activity has dropped off, these fees are now practically non-existent.
Is harmony possible?
The question is whether the AI investment explosion will make or break Bitcoin.
There is a notable school of thought that believes cryptocurrencies and AI can quite easily live in harmony.
Among the reasons given is that blockchains can offer human identity verification in a world where AI is king and that networks like Bitcoin can play a major role in the distribution of UBI (universal basic income).
Then there is the argument that decentralised networks can provide automated services between humans and AI agents.
It is somewhat ironic that the technology created to disrupt human-centric traditional finance is now being put forward as the guardian of human activity amid the AI revolution.
However, the problem for Bitcoin is the here and the now.
What channels can it pursue to stop the bleeding?
Institutional might
The answer to this question is already apparent.
After years of scepticism, traditional financial institutions are finally embracing cryptocurrencies
And the fact is that none come bigger than Bitcoin.
Vanguard, the second-biggest asset management firm in the world, is now listing crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including those of Bitcoin and other major platforms.
In explaining its decision, Vanguard says crypto ETFs have been tested through periods of market volatility, performing as designed while maintaining liquidity.
“The administrative processes to service these types of funds have matured; and investor preferences continue to evolve,” it says.
Bubble trouble
Institutional backing matters. It REALLY matters.
The upshot is that whatever concerns big finance might have about crypto, they pale in comparison to their fear of an AI bubble.
They want tried-and-tested, not speculative.
Bitcoin, despite its ups and downs, fits that mould.