The AI infrastructure buildout needs money. A lot of money. According to VanEck’s analysis from June 2026, Bitcoin miners transitioning to AI and high-performance computing face a near-term funding gap of approximately $50B, with long-term capital expenditure needs ballooning to roughly $221B.
Only about 25% of leased AI capacity has actually been delivered so far. That means three-quarters of the promises made to hyperscalers and AI companies remain unfulfilled. The money isn’t just needed for growth. It’s needed to avoid breaking commitments that are already on the books.
The great pivot, and who’s paying for it
Companies like CIFR and IREN have landed billion-dollar multi-year contracts with hyperscalers, and IREN has secured multi-billion GPU cloud agreements with companies including NVIDIA.
Traditional financing methods, think equity raises and asset sales, are proving insufficient. The sheer magnitude of the capital required has pushed companies toward more creative solutions. Some are leaning into equity-linked mechanisms, essentially hybrid instruments that give investors upside exposure while providing the capital companies desperately need to build.
