Are Bitcoin miners abandoning Bitcoin for AI? Is Bitcoin's fee market broken? And did Michael Saylor get this one wrong?
In this episode of Bitcoin Boomers, Bob Burnett, Larry Lepard, and George Bodine dive into one of the biggest debates facing Bitcoin in 2026.
Public mining companies are pivoting toward AI infrastructure, hash rate is declining for the first time in Bitcoin history, BIP-110 has ignited fierce discussion throughout the ecosystem, and the future of Bitcoin mining may look nothing like what we've assumed.
If you care about Bitcoin's long-term security, mining economics, decentralization, or the future of block space, this is one conversation you don't want to miss.
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Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:31 State of Bitcoin mining today
02:15 Why hash rate is falling for the first time
05:05 Public miners are struggling
07:12 AI vs Bitcoin mining
10:28 Are our assumptions about mining wrong?
14:06 Decentralization improves as miners exit
17:15 Mining economics explained
21:18 Why public miners are pivoting to AI
27:12 "Good riddance" to Bitcoin miners?
31:05 Why AI is attracting all the capital
34:42 Is the four-year cycle still alive?
39:30 The real purpose of Bitcoin mining
43:12 Why block space matters
47:30 Banks could become major miners
52:02 Responding to Michael Saylor's comments
57:45 Can Bitcoin fees replace the subsidy?
1:03:42 Larry Lepard on BIP-110
1:08:55 Thinking 10–20 years ahead
1:13:20 Final thoughts