<div data-v-0ccfa88e=””><?xml encoding=”utf-8″??><p data-ct-non-breakable=”undefined”>Bitfury is the latest Bitcoin miner to pivot away from the mining sector, announcing it will become an investment firm focused on “ethical emerging technologies,” including artificial intelligence and crypto.</p><p>Bitfury <a href=”https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251117111280/en/Bitfury-Launches-%241-Billion-Initiative-to-Advance-Ethical-Emerging-Technologies” rel=”noopener nofollow” target=”_blank”>said</a> on Tuesday that it would pour $1 billion into AI and crypto startups as early as the fourth quarter of 2025, with the funds coming from its previous operations, successful investments, and a network of investors.</p><p>“Our mission is to close the gap between innovation and ethics by acting as a catalyst for founders and investors building technologies that serve people and promote long-term resilience,” said Bitfury CEO Val Vavilov.</p><p>Bitfury was one of the first companies to start mining Bitcoin (<a href=”/bitcoin-price”>BTC</a>) in 2011 and had spun out the NASDAQ-listed <a href=”https://cointelegraph.com/news/cipher-mining-down-2024-operating-losses-up-yoy”>Cipher Mining</a> (CIFR) and Hut 8 (HUT), currently the 2nd and 7th largest Bitcoin miners by market cap.</p><figure> <img src=”https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-11/019a9975-0768-72ee-a4c2-77d1cdb57faa” title=””/><figcaption style=”text-align: center;”><em>Source: </em><a href=”https://x.com/BitfuryGroup/status/1990806320312934819″ rel=”nofollow” target=”https://x.com/BitfuryGroup/status/1990806320312934819″ title=”https://x.com/BitfuryGroup/status/1990806320312934819″><em>Bitfury</em></a></figcaption></figure><p data-ct-non-breakable=”undefined”>Many Bitcoin miners have been fully or partially pulling away from the industry as the cost and difficulty of mining crypto have increased, with some, such as Bitfarms, <a href=”https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitfarms-plunges-18-after-plan-wind-down-bitcoin-mining-ops”>converting their</a> sites to power AI.</p><h2>Bitfury CEO still sees crypto playing a big role in society</h2><p>Bitfury <a href=”https://fortune.com/2025/11/18/bitfury-bitcoin-mining-launches-1-billion-initiative/” rel=”noopener nofollow” target=”_blank”>told</a> Fortune that it would focus on AI, <a href=”https://cointelegraph.com/news/quantum-computing-bitcoin-lost-wallet-threat-tether-ceo”>quantum computing</a>, and “transparent decentralized systems.”</p><p>”AI is taking over,” Vavilov said when asked why the company will focus on those technologies. “We see the big synergy between AI and decentralized systems.”</p><p>Bitfury has hands-on experience in AI, having built an immersion-cooling solution, LiquidStack, to cool AI data centers, while also co-founding Netherlands-based chip company Axelera AI.</p><p data-ct-non-breakable=”undefined”><em><strong>Related: </strong></em><a href=”https://cointelegraph.com/news/institutions-lean-into-crypto-bitcoin-price-slump”><em><strong>Institutions lean into crypto despite Bitcoin price slump</strong></em></a></p><p data-ct-non-breakable=”undefined”>Vavilov’s added that <a href=”https://cointelegraph.com/news/how-decentralized-identity-could-solve-the-double-kyc-problem” rel=”sponsored”>self-sovereign identity</a> solutions enabled through cryptography are another area of focus for the company.</p><h2>Crypto miner stock slides with Bitcoin</h2><p>Profitability margins in the <a href=”https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-miners-income-stabilizes-post-halving-coin-metrics”>Bitcoin mining sector</a> continue to be squeezed amid a 52% rise in Bitcoin mining difficulty over the last 12 months and a 26.2% fall in Bitcoin’s price from its $126,080 set on Oct. 6</p><template data-ct-widget=”buzzsprout” data-buzzsprout-podcast-id=”2040516″ data-buzzsprout-episode-id=”18190687″/><p data-ct-non-breakable=”undefined”>The headwinds have resulted in the stock prices of 20 of the 22 largest Bitcoin mining companies by market cap falling over the last month.</p><p><em><strong>Magazine: </strong></em><a href=”https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/bitcoin-price-four-year-cycle-analysts-split-trade-secrets/”><em><strong>Crypto carnage — Is Bitcoin’s 4-year cycle over? Trade Secrets</strong></em></a></p><template data-name=”subscription_form” data-type=”markets_outlook” label=”Subscription Form: Markets Outlook”/><p style=”display: inline;” class=”WPAuto_Base_Readability-styled”>
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