In brief
- Bitcoin mining firm Hut 8 landed a $7 billion deal for an AI data center with Google’s financial backing.
- The deal has renewal options that can expand the total value to $17.7 billion.
- Hut 8 shares have now soared more than 15% since the opening bell.
Shares in publicly traded Bitcoin miner Hut8 (HUT) are soaring after the firm booked a new $7 billion, 15-year deal with Fluidstack—backstopped by Google—to provide power for high-performance computing via a 245MW data center at its River Bend campus in Louisiana.
HUT was recently changing hands at $42.55 shortly after the opening bell on Wednesday, a gain of more than 15%. HUT is up nearly 13% in the last month, and better than 150% in the last six months.
“This agreement is the result of disciplined, patient execution as we focused on securing the right transaction, not just the first,” said Hut8 CEO Asher Genoot, in a statement.
“Together with the State of Louisiana, Entergy, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Vertiv, and Jacobs, we expect to deliver next-generation AI and high-performance computing infrastructure at scale, and we are committed to applying the same rigor and long-term focus as we advance commercialization across our broader development pipeline,” he added.
The firm’s deal also includes up to 15 years of renewal options that can take the contract value to $17.7 billion. While Google is providing the financial backstop, the firm’s latest initiative will also hold ties to JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs on deal financing and loan underwriting.
“River Bend demonstrates how, when Hut 8 brings together the combination of innovative thinking, an aligned team, and institutional discipline to a rapidly evolving sector, it translates into real, enduring value,” said JPMorgan Global Chairman of Investment Banking Noah Wintroub, in a statement.
The deal is the latest in a trend that has seen Bitcoin miners expand significantly into AI compute, some with Google’s backing.
In September, Cipher Mining shares boomed on a $3 billion AI cloud hosting deal that was backstopped by Google. Bitcoin miner TeraWulf similarly had a deal with Fluidstack backed by Google, and the tech giant upped its stake in the miner in August.
Other miners like MARA are expanding their AI services alongside Bitcoin mining, while Bitfarms is completely winding down its BTC operations to focus on providing AI compute.
Hut8 anticipates that the construction of its new site will create up to 265 jobs in Louisiana. The first data hall at River Bend is expected to be completed in Q2 2027. The firm operates five Bitcoin mining sites across the United States and Canada.
A representative for the firm did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.
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