Bitcoin mining, AI may diverge on centralization, researcher says

Bitcoin mining is becoming more centralized while AI may move the opposite way, driven by edge computing and open-source models.

Bitcoin mining runs the risk of becoming more centralized as time goes on, while artificial intelligence may be moving in the opposite direction, according to Galaxy Research head Alex Thorn.

Thorn said that while Bitcoin mining began decentralized, with users mining Bitcoin on their personal computers, it has since become far more centralized, requiring ASIC miners or industrial-scale farms. 

“AI may follow the opposite path,” Thorn said, explaining that AI began in centralized clusters but could decentralize as open-source models close the gap.

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