Galaxy Brains — Bitcoin Mining vs. AI w/ Will Foxley

Podcast: Galaxy Brains
Host: Alex Thorn (Head of Research, Galaxy)
Guests: Will Foxley (Co-Founder, Block Space Media), Bimnet Abibi (Galaxy Trading)
Date: January 29, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode of Galaxy Brains dissects the rapidly evolving landscape at the intersection of Bitcoin mining, AI data centers, and the shifting role of crypto media. Host Alex Thorn interviews Will Foxley of Block Space Media for his expert insights on Bitcoin’s technical development, the rise of AI-fueled data center conversions, and how this is transforming the mining industry. The episode also features a deep-dive with Bimnet Abibi on macroeconomic chaos, Federal Reserve indecision, and how these dynamics affect crypto markets.

Table of Contents

1. Market & Macro Update (with Bimnet Abibi)

   • Fed Policy, Inflation, and Signs of Chaos
   • Geopolitical Risk and Non-Dollar Asset Demand
   • Gold & Silver Craze, Crypto Correlation, and “Trader’s Market”

2. Bitcoin Development & OP Next Conference

   • Developer-Investor Collaboration
   • Quantum Threat Debates
   • The Impact of Institutional Involvement

3. The Mining Landscape: Downturn, Consolidation & AI Pivot

   • Current State of U.S. Mining
   • The AI Factory Transition
   • Global Shift & Geopolitics in Hashrate

4. Media in Crypto: Trends, Survival, and Focused Niche

   • Economic Shifts in Crypto Media
   • Rise of Specialized Coverage & Decline of Traditional Newsrooms
   • The Role of Data, Podcasts, and Prediction Markets

5. Memorable Quotes & Key Moments

Market & Macro Update (with Bimnet Abibi)

Timestamps: 04:24–20:26

Fed Policy & Market Mood

• Rate Pause, Cautious Cuts: The Fed held rates steady, with little urgency for aggressive cuts:

  “There’s only like a little over two more cuts baked into the front end of the US rate curve... the economy is doing just fine.” – Bimnet (05:09)

• Inflation and Policy Debate:

  “All the rhetoric around ‘rates are 100 basis points too high’ — we still have an inflation and the other stuff mandate going.” – Bimnet (06:34)

• Fed Independence Under Pressure:
  Bimnet notes frequent political questions to Powell, worrying for long-term credibility:

  "I’ve never seen Powell answer so many political questions. That is not what the Fed chairman should be asked about." (08:01)

Geopolitical Risk & Demand for Non-Dollar Assets

• Gold and Silver Surge:

  “You had gold move 4% today. Higher, fresh all-time highs. Silver’s also been mooning.” – Bimnet (10:38)

• Crypto Platforms and Commodities:

  "A lot of crypto platforms are now embracing the run in commodities because they view it as, you know, another token." (11:51)

• Cultural Value of Gold:

  “What people miss here in the US is just how embedded it is culturally abroad to have gold and silver... part of people's cultures to save money in gold.” – Bimnet (12:17)

Crypto Market Volatility & Trader’s Perspective

• Bitcoin’s Performance:
  Range-bound and underperforming relative to gold and silver, despite positive crypto events:

  "We still can't manage to be above 100 (thousand). That is quite telling in terms of where the attention has gone in financial markets." – Bimnet (17:44)

• A Trader’s Market:

  “It is really like a proper trader's market this year... these volatile periods are going to be great if you are able to move in and out of markets.” – Bimnet (18:42)

Bitcoin Development & OP Next Conference (Will Foxley)

Timestamps: 20:30–36:44

Expanding Block Space and the Importance of Development Conferences

• OP Next Focus:

  “This is the event you go to once a year. Get your update on the important stuff. We do all the filtering for what does not matter... all the signal gathering in one location in New York.” – Will (23:32)

• Developer-Investor Collaboration:
  Conferences now attract institutional investors (BlackRock, Citibank) who care about the technical roadmap.

• Debates Around Bitcoin Evolution

  • Michael Saylor’s conservative “digital property” stance vs. Jack Dorsey’s charitable investment and feature expansion.
  • The need for more public, proactive engagement from influential voices.

Quantum Threat: Fear, Debate, and Institutional Concerns

• Quantum panels planned:

  "20-25% of total programming can be around [Quantum]. If you don't want to hear it, go to the hallway." – Will (31:23)

• Investor Hesitancy & Communication Gap:

  "[Quantum]...creating a future headwind for bitcoin. There might be rooms where investors are saying, 'Let's put a big chunk into bitcoin.' And somebody there is like, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa, what about Quantum?'" – Alex (32:03)

• The Bitcoin dev ecosystem is addressing quantum risk, if slowly and with competing priorities.

The Mining Landscape: Downturn, Consolidation & AI Pivot

Timestamps: 36:44–49:41

Bleak Prospects for Traditional US Miners

• Consolidation and Closures

  • “It’s bleak for mining right now. Associations for bitcoin miners shutting down... smaller shops, they’re competing over pennies now.” – Will (37:21)
  • "It's just not that novel anymore to be a bitcoin miner, which is fine. That was the end goal... it's just going to be combined to other systems." – Will (38:11)

• Hash Price Decline

  • Difficulty adjustments and power costs compress margins; hash rate hit a zettahash but price pressures mount.

AI Factory Transition — The “AIification” of Mining

• Pivot to AI Data Centers

  • “Last year was just the emergence of some of these bitcoin miners as AI factories... deploy the bitcoin miners into the energy sinkhole... then retrofit for AI tenants like Google or Amazon.” – Will (41:14)

  • “You have to have a mass amount of cash, project financing, or equity... it’s between $6–$12 million per megawatt to redo the infrastructure.” – Will (42:08)

  • “We are seeing this shifting where they’re almost not mining bitcoin at all.” – Will (43:24)

• Smaller Miners’ Strategies

  • Some look to serve “inference” needs for enterprises or pursue small, bespoke AI clusters.

Geopolitical Hashrate Shift

• Hardware Moving Overseas

  • “We are hearing rumors of [hashrate] going overseas. The biggest player would be Russia or China. I expect to see Russia’s hash rate grow.” – Will (44:47)

  • Possible future issues with ASIC sales and U.S. national interest in mining.

Bitcoin in a Fragmenting World Order

• Why isn’t Bitcoin outpacing gold?
  • “We’re in a materially degrading investing environment and geopolitical environment... Surely bitcoin would play a good role there. So why is it now languishing at 90k?” – Alex (46:28)

Media in Crypto: Trends, Survival, and Focused Niche

Timestamps: 54:17–66:47

The Collapse of Traditional Crypto News

• Shift to Bloomberg/Reuters

  • “Bloomberg has an excellent team... Reuters does a really good job at the international scene. Between those two you’re getting all the headlines you want.” – Will (55:07)

• Ad Economics and CPM Decline

  • “It's very apparent that a lot of these news desks were not very good at that. CPM on their ads was compressing very tightly, had to lay off people.” – Will (57:07)
  • Monetizing news coverage is increasingly untenable compared to data products and personality-driven content.

• Specialization & Community

  • Survival is in “going deep” on a niche (e.g. Block Space’s focus on mining and technical development).
  • “There is a lot of opportunity in niche media. If you know your community, you can deliver what people want.” – Will (66:30)

The Rise of Podcasts, Data & Prediction Markets

• Podcasts, visual media, and community engagement trump SEO-driven news.
• Some crypto media exploring event-related prediction markets for real information and hedging uses.

Memorable Quotes & Key Moments

• On Bitcoin Development’s Value to Investors

  “At the end of the day, it’s a $2 trillion asset — you’re going to care about [development conferences].” – Will Foxley (22:02)

• On the State of Hashrate

  “We did crack a zeta hash, which is just an incredible amount of compute. It’s hard to even put that into... it’s an unfathomably high number of attempts to create a block.” – Alex Thorn (38:45)

• On the AI Factory Transition

  "How do these bitcoin miners go from a high beta play on bitcoin into being re-rated as data centers with a higher multiple? That's a very interesting story." – Will Foxley (43:24)

• On Crypto Media’s Evolution

  "It’s not apparent that running news is a good way of getting people to click on advertisements anymore. What is a good way... is, 'I really like that podcast host. I'm going to listen to them every day.'" – Will Foxley (58:13)

Notable Timestamps

• Fed & Macro Segment (Bimnet): 04:24–20:26
• Bitcoin Development/Op Next (Will): 20:30–36:44
• Bitcoin Mining & AI Pivot: 36:44–49:41
• Geopolitics & Hashrate Prices: 44:47–49:41
• Crypto Media Discussion: 54:17–66:47
• Episode Wrap/Closing Thoughts: 66:47–End

TL;DR Takeaways

• The Fed is in a holding pattern, inflation remains nontrivial, and macro volatility is driving global demand for gold, silver, and non-dollar assets—bitcoin included, but it still lags gold.
• Bitcoin mining in the U.S. is consolidating and “AI-fying”—miners are retrofitting sites as AI compute factories rather than running ASICs for bitcoin.
• Conferences like OP Next are bringing together developers and institutional investors, focusing heavily on quantum threats and shaping the future direction of the protocol.
• The crypto media landscape is rapidly shifting from SEO news desks to specialized, engaged community media (podcasts, in-depth analytics, event coverage), while mainstream outlets step up their game.
• Niche expertise and cultivated community are the new edge in both media and mining.

For those navigating crypto’s evolving terrain, this episode offers a vivid snapshot of shifting industry tectonics — from protocol security fears and mining’s business model crunch, to the redefinition of crypto news in a post-hype world.