What is an existing Bitcoin mine’s power contract and grid connection worth if new data centers become harder to build?
On November 10, 2026, PANews, citing Crypto Briefing, reported remarks by Benoît Pellevoizin, managing director of CoinShares France. He said restrictions on new data-center construction after the US midterm elections could increase the value of existing Bitcoin mining infrastructure. Companies that already have paying AI tenants, he said, would benefit the most.
The point he described is about site access to power, not a change in network hashrate or difficulty. Concerns over electricity prices, water consumption, and the influence of large technology companies have increased public opposition to new facilities. Existing mines face fewer of those barriers because they already hold power contracts and grid connections.
CoinShares data cited in the report put grid-connection delays at more than five years for many projects, and at more than seven years on average in the PJM region. Fully leased AI data centers were valued at about $27 million per megawatt. Some listed mining companies holding capacity that is energized but not leased were valued at less than $3 million per megawatt.
Those are reported valuations and stated interconnection delays. They are not a split of any single mine’s capital cost versus its running power cost, and they are not a forecast of mining profit. The comparison is between new projects still waiting for a connection and sites that already have one, and between capacity with a paying AI tenant and capacity without one.
Original article: PANews, November 10, 2026.
