Today in crypto, public Bitcoin miners are planning about 30 gigawatts of new power capacity aimed at artificial intelligence workloads. Bitcoin-backed loan platform Ledn reportedly sold about $188 million of bonds tied to Bitcoin‑collateralized consumer loans. Meanwhile, US Senator Bernie Moreno is confident the US CLARITY Act will pass soon.
Bitcoin miners chase 30 GW AI capacity to offset hashprice pressure
Public Bitcoin miners are planning about 30 gigawatts of new power capacity aimed at artificial intelligence workloads, nearly three times the 11 GW they currently have online, as they race to offset shrinking mining margins and reposition for the next growth cycle.
The buildout, compiled by TheEnergyMag across 14 publicly traded Bitcoin (BTC) miners, underscores how aggressively the industry is pivoting away from traditional hashpower amid persistently weak hashprice conditions.
On paper, the planned expansion amounts to what TheEnergyMag described as “a small country’s worth of power infrastructure.” In reality, much of the 30 GW sits in development pipelines, interconnection queues or early-stage plans, rather than operational facilities.
“This is the megawatt arms race of the AI boom,” TheEnergyMag said, adding that monetization ultimately depends on whether AI demand remains strong enough to justify the scale of investment.
Ledn raises $188 million in first Bitcoin-backed loan securitization
Bitcoin-backed loan platform Ledn sold about $188 million of bonds tied to Bitcoin‑collateralized consumer loans into the mainstream asset‑backed securities (ABS) market, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
In a first-of-its-kind deal, one of the two tranches — the investment‑grade portion — was reportedly priced at a spread of about 335 basis points over a benchmark rate, implying that investors are demanding 3.35 percentage points in extra yield to hold crypto‑linked credit risk rather than conventional consumer ABS.
The deal is structured through Ledn Issuer Trust 2026‑1, which securitizes a pool of 5,441 short‑term, fixed‑rate balloon loans extended to 2,914 US borrowers, backed by 4,078.87 Bitcoin (BTC) held as collateral, according to S&P Global Ratings’ preliminary documentation on Feb. 9.
Balloon loans are structured with relatively small periodic payments and a large lump‑sum “balloon” payment at maturity, which keeps near‑term payments low but leaves a sizeable principal balance due at the end.
Founded in 2018, Ledn says it has funded over $9.5 billion in loans so far in over 100 countries. The company received a strategic investment from Tether, the issuer of the USDt (USDT) stablecoin, in November 2025.
Senator Moreno: US CLARITY Act to pass “hopefully by April”
The US CLARITY Act, a highly anticipated bill aimed at providing greater clarity for the US crypto industry, could make it through Congress in just over a month, according to US Senator Bernie Moreno.
“Hopefully by April,” Moreno told CNBC during an interview at US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Florida on Wednesday.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong joined Moreno for the interview, explaining that they were with representatives from the crypto, banking and US Congress at the World Liberty Financial (WLF) crypto forum to reach a solution on market structure.
“One of the big issues that did come up in the past was this idea of stablecoins on rewards,” Armstrong said.
The banking industry previously raised concerns that offering stablecoin yields could undermine traditional banking and shift deposits and interest away from banks.
