{"id":25742,"date":"2026-04-13T08:34:52","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T08:34:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/researcher-suggests-ai-may-decentralize-just-as-bitcoin-mining-turns-industrial\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T08:35:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T08:35:00","slug":"researcher-suggests-ai-may-decentralize-just-as-bitcoin-mining-turns-industrial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/researcher-suggests-ai-may-decentralize-just-as-bitcoin-mining-turns-industrial\/","title":{"rendered":"Researcher suggests AI may decentralize just as Bitcoin mining turns industrial"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-detail__content blocks\">\n<p>Bitcoin and artificial intelligence appear to be moving in opposite directions regarding how their power is distributed.<\/p>\n<div id=\"cn-block-summary-block_ae5886db5f870227d15cb7979298348e\" class=\"cn-block-summary\">\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__nav tabs\">\n        <span class=\"tabs__item is-selected\">Summary<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__content\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Bitcoin mining is increasingly shifting toward industrial-scale operations while AI development begins to move toward smaller and more personal device applications.<\/li>\n<li>The edge AI market is projected to reach 119 billion dollars by 2033 as localized data processing and privacy needs drive a 300 percent growth rate.<\/li>\n<li>High energy costs in the United States are pushing Bitcoin hash rates toward the Global South, with Ethiopia and Paraguay emerging as major hubs for hydroelectric mining.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- .cn-block-summary --><\/p>\n<p>Galaxy Research head Alex Thorn <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/intangiblecoins\/status\/2043331397260095617\" target=\"_blank\">pointed<\/a> out on Sunday that Bitcoin mining, which started on simple home computers, now mostly happens in massive industrial warehouses using specialized gear. AI, however, may take the reverse route.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While AI currently lives in giant, restricted data centers, Thorn believes open-source progress is closing the gap as major models hit limits in memory and data.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf local models keep getting smaller, cheaper, and more efficient, AI may become increasingly personal and on-device,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Localized computing on the rise<\/h2>\n<p>Grand View Research <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.grandviewresearch.com\/industry-analysis\/edge-ai-market-report\" target=\"_blank\">estimates<\/a> the global market for \u201cEdge AI\u201d\u2014technology that runs locally on gadgets rather than through a central cloud\u2014will reach $119 billion by 2033.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This represents a jump from roughly $25 billion expected in 2025. The growth stems from the explosion of connected devices and a need for instant data processing that does not rely on a distant server.<\/p>\n<p>Market analysts at GVR attributed this momentum to the expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT). Industry trends show a \u201crising focus on data privacy and localized intelligence at the network edge,\u201d which allows companies to automate tasks without sending sensitive information to a central hub.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Mining moves to the Global South<\/h2>\n<p>A separate <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kucoin.com\/blog\/bitcoin-2026-revealed\" target=\"_blank\">report<\/a> from the crypto exchange KuCoin on Friday showed that while Bitcoin hardware is harder for individuals to own, the locations of these machines are spreading out globally.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>High electricity prices in the United States have made mining unprofitable in certain regions, with costs to produce a single coin sometimes exceeding $100,000.<\/p>\n<p>Operators are now seeking cheaper energy in places like Ethiopia and Paraguay, where hydroelectric power is plentiful. Such a move helps protect the network by ensuring it isn\u2019t tied to the politics or power grids of just one or two nations.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>According to KuCoin, \u201cthis decentralization of mining power across different continents enhances the security of the network by making it less vulnerable to any single country\u2019s political or environmental shocks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bitcoin and artificial intelligence appear to be moving in opposite directions regarding how their power is distributed. Summary Bitcoin mining is increasingly shifting toward industrial-scale operations while AI development begins&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8736,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25742"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25742\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25743,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25742\/revisions\/25743"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}