Hut 8 Stock Surges 30% on $9.8B AI Data Center Lease Deal in Texas

Hut 8 Stock Surges 30% on $9.8B

Hut 8 shares jumped nearly 30% Wednesday after the bitcoin miner announced a massive pivot into artificial intelligence infrastructure. The company signed a 15-year, $9.8 billion lease for a large-scale AI data center project at its Beacon Point campus in Texas, with options that could push the total contract value to approximately $25.1 billion if all renewal terms are exercised.

The deal marks a significant shift for the publicly listed miner, which is repurposing its former bitcoin mining facility into high-performance computing infrastructure. The 352-megawatt lease with an investment-grade tenant will support AI training and inference workloads, addressing surging demand for data center capacity in the artificial intelligence sector.

Hut 8 Chief Executive Asher Genoot said the project demonstrates the company’s strategy of starting with power infrastructure and maintaining flexibility across multiple end markets. “Operating across multiple applications lets us underwrite assets that single-use-case developers cannot, then redirect them toward higher-value commercialization pathways as demand evolves,” Genoot said in a statement.

The Beacon Point lease brings Hut 8’s total contracted AI data center capacity to 597 megawatts, with aggregate base-term contract value reaching approximately $16.8 billion. Once stabilized, the company expects the Beacon Point lease to contribute roughly $655 million in annual net operating income. This follows a pattern seen in related infrastructure deals reshaping the digital asset sector.

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The shift reflects broader industry trends as bitcoin miners face increasingly challenging economics. Miners are currently operating at losses of approximately $19,000 per coin produced, according to industry data. More than $70 billion in AI infrastructure contracts have been signed across the sector, with some miners potentially deriving up to 70% of their revenue from AI by the end of 2026.

Hut 8’s pivot into AI infrastructure is not new for the company. This represents the company’s second major AI data center deal, signaling management’s confidence in the long-term profitability of high-performance computing infrastructure over traditional bitcoin mining operations.

The Beacon Point campus in Nueces County, Texas was originally developed for bitcoin mining but has been repositioned to capitalize on the explosive growth in AI demand. The site has secured 1,000 megawatts of utility capacity, with initial energization expected in the first quarter of 2027. The company has a broader pipeline of 7,500 megawatts across its operations.

The project is designed to NVIDIA’s DSX reference architecture and will be developed in partnership with American Electric Power, Vertiv, and Jacobs. Initial delivery of the first data hall is expected by the third quarter of 2027. This infrastructure approach aligns with how major cloud providers, according to industry reporting, are building out AI capacity to meet enterprise demand.

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The lease structure provides Hut 8 with multiple revenue streams and funding to support further development of the Beacon Point campus and growth across its broader pipeline. The company said the funding will accelerate its AI infrastructure platform expansion as it competes with other data center operators for lucrative long-term contracts.

Hut 8’s move reflects a broader industry transformation. Bitcoin miners that once focused exclusively on cryptocurrency production are increasingly positioning themselves as infrastructure providers for the artificial intelligence economy. The company’s ability to secure an investment-grade tenant for a 352-megawatt facility demonstrates market confidence in its operational capabilities and infrastructure quality.

The deal also highlights the strategic value of existing mining infrastructure. Rather than abandoning facilities built for bitcoin production, miners like Hut 8 are leveraging their power infrastructure expertise and existing utility relationships to enter the more lucrative AI data center market. This approach allows them to repurpose assets while maintaining operational flexibility.

Investors responded positively to the announcement, with the 30% share price increase reflecting confidence in the company’s strategic direction and the long-term revenue potential of the AI data center lease. The deal provides Hut 8 with predictable, long-term cash flows from an investment-grade tenant, a significant advantage over the volatile bitcoin mining business.