Bitfarms Stock Pumps as It Dumps Bitcoin Mining for AI With Name Change, Move to US

Publicly traded Bitcoin miner Bitfarms is fully detaching itself from the top crypto asset, changing its name to Keel Infrastructure as it seeks to transition its business to the United States to focus on empowering artificial intelligence (AI). 

The firm first announced its intentions in November to abandon its Bitcoin mining business, signaling a shift to providing infrastructure for AI as it saw an opportunity to improve net operating incomes.

“Our new name reflects how we think about infrastructure, how we’re building this company, and how we want to serve our future customers,” CEO Ben Gagnon said in a Friday statement.

“We are no longer a Bitcoin company, we are an infrastructure-first owner and developer for HPC/AI data centers across North America,” he continued. “As we enter this next chapter, our focus is simple: we’re building the infrastructure for the compute of the future.”

Shares in the firm (BITF) have jumped 27% following the announcement and alongside a broader rebound in crypto equities and tokens on Friday, recently changing hands around $2.17. Upon the completion of its U.S. redomiciliation process, which is expected to be completed by April 1, the firm anticipates trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker KEEL. 

A shareholder vote will be held on March 20, and must be approved before the transition takes place. 

The firm’s move from Canada to the United States and its business shift have been the “culmination of a comprehensive strategic review process” by its board of directors over the last year—but its renewed focus on AI is not one it’s making alone. 

Publicly traded Bitcoin miners, like Riot Platforms, MARA Holdings, and CleanSpark, have all signaled at least a partial shift to AI. Others, like Cipher Mining and Hut 8 have made multibillion-dollar deals with Google to back AI data centers.

The shift to AI may represent a more predictable revenue stream, as miners face uncertainty amid a falling Bitcoin price. The largest crypto asset by market cap dropped as low as $60,255 on Thursday before rebounding to recently change hands around $70,415. 

BTC is now down 16% in the last week and sits over 44% off its all-time high of $126,080.