Could existing power contracts and grid connections make Bitcoin mining sites more valuable if new data-center construction faces restrictions? CoinShares’ France managing director, Benoît Pellevoizin, said that was possible, but companies with paying AI tenants stood to benefit most.
ChainCatcher reported his comments, citing Crypto Briefing, on November 10, 2026, at 08:21:55 UTC+8. The report framed potential restrictions following the U.S. midterm elections as a possible advantage for existing infrastructure—not a guaranteed increase in miners’ asset values.
Grid access is the operational advantage
Pellevoizin said concerns over electricity prices, water consumption and the influence of large technology companies were increasing public resistance to new facilities. Existing mining sites faced fewer obstacles because they already held power contracts and grid connections.
According to CoinShares data cited in the report, grid-connection delays for many projects had exceeded five years, with the average in the PJM region exceeding seven years.
Powered capacity is not the same as a leased AI facility
The report highlighted a large valuation gap:
- Fully leased AI data centers: approximately $27 million per megawatt.
- Some listed mining companies with energized but unleased capacity: less than $3 million per megawatt.
Those figures do not represent a cost-free conversion opportunity. The reported capital cost of converting mining infrastructure into AI facilities was $8 million–$15 million per megawatt. The source did not provide a running-cost breakdown or a calculation of conversion profitability.
Contracted AI capacity also distinguished company valuations. Miners with signed AI capacity contracts traded at an average of 12.9 times forward sales, compared with 3.7 times for miners without such contracts.
The distinction in Pellevoizin’s assessment was therefore between having access to power and having paying AI tenants: existing grid access could become more valuable, while contracted demand offered the strongest potential benefit.