Bitcoin miner Hut 8 signed a second 15-year lease worth $9.8 billion for its AI data center, the Toronto Stock Exchange- and Nasdaq-listed firm announced Monday. The deal doubles the tenant's capacity at Hut 8's Beacon Point campus in Texas to 704 megawatts. The move reflects a broader industry shift as publicly listed Bitcoin miners redirect resources to AI infrastructure amid increasing mining difficulty and surging demand for high-performance computing.
Hut 8 Shares Rise Over 10% on Lease Announcement
Hut 8 shares peaked as high as $106 per share on Monday before dropping to around $101. The stock closed Monday up over 10% following the lease announcement.
Beacon Point Campus Reaches 704 MW Tenant Capacity
The Toronto-based firm's Beacon Point campus in Texas data center covers 352 megawatts of IT capacity. The tenant using the data center will have its capacity doubled to 704 MW under the new lease. Hut 8 stated that the campus has a base-term contract value of $19.6 billion over 15 years, rising to as much as $50.2 billion if renewal options are exercised.
CEO Genoot Cites Partner Commitment as Validation
Asher Genoot, CEO of Hut 8, said: "The real test of our power-first approach is what our partners are willing to commit against it. Our tenant at Beacon Point chose to double its footprint at the site, the strongest validation an asset can receive."
Hut 8 Secured Google Partnership in December
Hut 8 in December secured a Google-backed partnership with Anthropic and Fluidstack to build up to 2.3 gigawatts of AI data center capacity in the U.S. The company last year signed a deal with American Data Centers Inc., a company backed by President Donald Trump's sons Eric and Donald Jr., to contribute its Bitcoin mining equipment and help debut their American Bitcoin mining firm.
Bitcoin Miners Pivot to AI Data Center Operations
Hut 8 is one of a number of top publicly listed miners that have started directing resources to providing the infrastructure for high-powered computing. As the price of Bitcoin has dipped, it has become harder for Bitcoin miners to make ends meet. Nasdaq-listed Bitfarms last year announced that it would wind down mining operations to focus on high-performance computing. A number of Bitcoin miners have marketed themselves as "compute" or "digital infrastructure" companies while switching between minting digital coins and providing compute for AI depending on which is more profitable. Top miners Terawulf, IREN, and Cipher Mining all last year signed multi-year HPC contracts with Alphabet Inc.'s Google and Microsoft. Both the crypto mining and HPC industries require huge amounts of energy and data centers.
FAQ
What did Hut 8 announce on Monday?
Hut 8 announced it signed a second 15-year lease worth $9.8 billion for its AI data center, doubling the tenant's capacity at its Beacon Point campus in Texas to 704 megawatts.
How much did Hut 8 shares rise after the announcement?
Hut 8 shares peaked at $106 per share on Monday and closed up over 10% at around $101 following the lease announcement.
What is the total contract value of Hut 8's Beacon Point campus?
The Beacon Point campus has a base-term contract value of $19.6 billion over 15 years, rising to as much as $50.2 billion if renewal options are exercised.
