thecryptobasic.com
Bitcoin miner Hut 8 has landed one of the largest infrastructure deals ever signed by a Bitcoin company.
In particular, Hut 8 has secured a 15-year, $7 billion lease to deliver large-scale AI data center capacity at its River Bend campus in Louisiana. The deal shows how crypto miners are monetizing their power and infrastructure to meet the growing demand for AI computing.
Hut 8’s lease with AI infrastructure company Fluidstack covers 245 megawatts (MW) of IT capacity, with a 3% annual rent increase.
Meanwhile, Google is backing the lease financially, stepping in if Fluidstack can’t make payments. This reduces risk and boosts confidence in Hut 8’s strategy.
The agreement also gives Fluidstack the option to lease up to 1,000 MW more as the campus grows.
Google Backstop and JPMorgan Financing Reduce Risk
Indeed, Google’s involvement as a financial guarantor throughout the base lease term is a defining feature of the transaction. In addition, Hut 8 and Fluidstack plan to enter into an operations services agreement for ongoing data center management, which a Google payment backstop will also support.
The project will be mostly financed through loans, with banks providing up to 85% of the cost. JPMorgan is the lead underwriter, with Goldman Sachs also involved, reducing the upfront money Hut 8 needs to invest.
Hut 8 expects the deal to generate around $6.9 billion in total net operating income over 15 years, or about $454 million per year.
Construction Timeline Extends to 2027
Work at the River Bend site has begun. The first data hall could be ready by the second quarter of 2027, with more halls coming online later that year.
CEO Asher Genoot said the project reflects Hut 8’s “power-first, innovation-driven” approach, focusing on the right partners rather than speed.
Hut 8 Stock Reaction
Following the announcement, Hut 8 shares jumped about 20% in pre-market trading. This shows investor excitement over the company’s shift from Bitcoin mining to AI and high-performance computing.
Notably, the move builds on Hut 8’s earlier push into AI. In 2024, the company launched its Highrise AI subsidiary and deployed more than 1,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs to offer GPU-as-a-Service products.
Crypto Miners Moving into AI
Meanwhile, Hut 8’s deal is part of a trend of crypto companies shifting into AI to create new revenue. Core Scientific signed a $3.5 billion, 12-year deal with CoreWeave, expected to bring in about $290 million per year.
Galaxy Digital expanded its Helios AI data center in Texas and signed a long-term lease with CoreWeave, projected to generate around $1 billion annually. Cipher Mining also made a high-performance computing deal with Fluidstack, backed by Google.
These deals show that power, land, and infrastructure built for Bitcoin mining are now being repurposed for large-scale AI, earning crypto firms billions over the next decade.