# Miners are selling megawatts, not hashes.

[Canonical page](https://portraitresearch.com/blog/miners-are-selling-megawatts-not-hashes/)

By Connell Gough · Co-founder and CTO at Portrait Research

Published: 2026-07-08

Updated: 2026-10-03

Compare Core Scientific, Riot, MARA and CleanSpark as Bitcoin miners pursue AI/HPC capacity, using Q1 2026 disclosures and stated analyst assumptions.

## The great pivot

Bitcoin miners are re-underwriting their megawatts from SHA-256 hashing to AI/HPC colocation. The arithmetic is simple: a MW leased to a hyperscaler is worth **3–5× more per year** than the same MW mining BTC at current hashprice.

![Chart 1.2 — MW economics](https://portraitresearch.com/media/blog/img/chart1.png)

MW economics

*Source: analyst calculation. HPC lease benchmark ~$1.44M/MW/yr triangulated from CORZ CoreWeave contract disclosure (Q1-2026 and Q2-2024 earnings calls, S&P Global); self-mining economics at ~$100k BTC, ~$50/PH/day hashprice, ~30 J/TH, $0.04/kWh.*

The four names sit at four different points on the curve. CORZ is the template — 243 MW invoicing CoreWeave against a 590 MW commitment, $3.3B project bond closed. RIOT crossed the signed-lease line in Q1-2026 (AMD, doubled intra-quarter from 25 to 50 MW, +150 MW of options). MARA has bought the power (Long Ridge 505 MW CCGT, Starwood JV) but has not signed a tenant. CLSK, the historic HODL holdout, spent fiscal Q2-2026 rebadging 1,175 MW as AI-suitable and marketing Sandersville to a lead prospective tenant.

![Chart 1.1 — MW footprint mix](https://portraitresearch.com/media/blog/img/chart2.png)

MW mix

*Source: analyst compilation from RIOT, CORZ, MARA and CLSK Q1-2026 (calendar) / Q2-2026 (CLSK fiscal) earnings calls and presentations, S&P Global.*

Disaggregating into signed / optioned / remaining HPC-suitable MW clarifies the shape — only CORZ has a signed book bigger than its pipeline that is *actually billing today*; CLSK's 835 MW "signed" figure is largely a re-badging of MW currently earning BTC.

![Chart 5.2 — HPC MW ladder](https://portraitresearch.com/media/blog/img/chart3.png)

HPC MW ladder

*Source: analyst compilation from company Q1-2026 (calendar) / Q2-2026 (CLSK fiscal) earnings calls and presentations, S&P Global.*

## Ranking on transition progress

| Rank | Ticker | Contracted HPC MW | Playbook status | Anchor evidence |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **CORZ** | 590 MW signed / 243 MW billing | Executing at scale | CoreWeave 12-yr contracts, >$350M annualized run-rate; margin target raised to 80–85% |
| 2 | **RIOT** | 50 MW signed / 5 MW billing | Anchor lease live and expanding | AMD lease doubled 25→50 MW intra-quarter; +150 MW of options; $33.2M Q1'26 segment revenue |
| 3 | **MARA** | 0 MW signed | Bought the power, hunting the tenant | Starwood JV + Exaion + Long Ridge (505 MW CCGT); tenant announcement guided H2-2026 |
| 4 | **CLSK** | 0 MW signed / 1,175 MW AI-suitable | Just entering commercialization | Sandersville lead prospective tenant progressing; Houston hub in development |

The pivot has to be paid for, and consensus has the group's quarterly CapEx roughly doubling from Q1-2026 exit levels into Q3–Q4. CORZ has already been spending like a hyperscaler for four quarters; CLSK's curve ramps hardest into year-end — a spend the current stack cannot fully cover without either a signed HPC lease unlocking project debt (the CORZ template) or fresh paper.

### CORZ

- Company-guided 2026 CapEx: ~$2.0B for FY26, explicitly "assumes no new customer contract"; includes ~$700M for the Hunt County (TX) + Polaris (Muskogee, OK) site acquisitions plus long-lead equipment procurement to precede ~1 GW of new billable capacity
- Build-cost benchmark: ~$11M/MW total build cost (20% cash outlay against 80% project-finance LTC)
  *Source: CORZ, Q1 2026 Earnings Call Presentation; CORZ, Q1 2026 Earnings Call*

### RIOT

- Company-guided 2026 CapEx: No full-year 2026 CapEx figure disclosed
- Build-cost benchmark: AMD 50 MW lease total CapEx $172.7M, or ~$3.5M/MW blended ($3.6M/MW on initial 25 MW; $3.3M/MW on 25 MW expansion, "a significant reduction … driven by a leaner build-out scope"). Core-and-shell CapEx "unchanged from prior guidance" but not dollar-quantified
  *Source: RIOT, Q1 2026 Earnings Call; RIOT, Q1 2026 Earnings Call Presentation*

### MARA

- Company-guided 2026 CapEx: No full-year 2026 CapEx figure disclosed
- Build-cost benchmark: Long Ridge (505 MW CCGT) closing brings owned-operated capacity to ~2.2 GW; MARA is explicit that the Starwood JV structure is designed "to drop \[assets\] into the partnership with limited amount of capital needs" — the site-level CapEx is meant to sit outside MARA's own P&L
  *Source: MARA, Q1 2026 Earnings Call*

### CLSK

- Company-guided 2026 CapEx: No full-year 2026 CapEx figure disclosed
- Build-cost benchmark: AI build cost $9–11M/MW ("the range that we're seeing … the overwhelming majority \[of CapEx\] is related to AIDC"); Bitcoin-mining CapEx being wound down two years out from the next halving
  *Source: CLSK, Q1 2026 Earnings Call*

The next twelve months either validate the peer group's pipeline into contracted MW — or expose which names are perpetually two quarters away.

## Sources and research method

Read these contemporaneous company disclosures alongside the analyst calculations and assumptions identified above. Signed capacity, billing capacity, options and prospective developments are distinct; the economics shown depend on the stated inputs.

- [Core Scientific Q1 2026 results (May 6, 2026)](https://investors.corescientific.com/sec-filings/all-sec-filings/content/0001628280-26-031246/q12026corescientificinc-ea.htm)
- [Riot Q1 2026 results and strategic highlights (April 30, 2026)](https://www.riotplatforms.com/riot-platforms-reports-first-quarter-2026-financial-results-and-strategic-highlights/)
- [MARA Q1 2026 shareholder letter (May 11, 2026)](https://ir.mara.com/sec-filings/all-sec-filings/content/0001507605-26-000014/q126shareholderletter.htm)
- [CleanSpark fiscal Q2 2026 results (May 11, 2026)](https://investors.cleanspark.com/news/news-details/2026/CleanSpark-Reports-Second-Fiscal-Quarter-2026-Results/default.aspx)

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Source links and research references added 2026-10-03.