Hut 8 shares rose about 14% in early trading on Monday after signing a second 15-year lease worth $9.8 billion with an existing investment-grade customer. The crypto-mining turned AI data center company fully commercialized its 1-gigawatt Beacon Point campus in Texas through the agreement, which covers 352 megawatts of IT capacity and doubles the unnamed tenant's total contracted footprint at the site to 704 MW. The rally reflected investor confidence in sustained demand for large-scale AI computing capacity as former bitcoin mining companies increasingly pivot to AI infrastructure contracts backed by power access and data center sites.
Hut 8 Signs Second $9.8 Billion Lease at Texas Campus
The agreement brings the Beacon Point campus's base-term contract value to $19.6 billion over 15 years, with the figure rising to as much as $50.2 billion if renewal options are exercised. Total contracted AI data center capacity across Hut 8's portfolio has risen to 949 MW, backed by 1,330 MW of utility capacity. Aggregate base-term contract value now stands at $26.6 billion, with all contracted capacity leased to, or backed by, investment-grade counterparties.
Hut 8 shares had nearly doubled by the previous close before Monday's gain. The company redesigned the first data hall at Beacon Point around Nvidia's architecture, lifting capacity by 57% within the same land and utility footprint. The existing tenant then doubled its contracted capacity at the campus. Hut 8 expects to begin delivering the first Phase 2 data hall in the second quarter of 2028.
Bitcoin Miners Transition to AI Infrastructure
Hut 8 is part of a group of former bitcoin mining companies seeking to convert power access, data center sites, and operating experience into AI infrastructure contracts. During the crypto boom, miners built businesses around cheap electricity, large facilities, and high-density computing. Those same assets have become more valuable as AI developers compete for power and capacity.
Demand for compute infrastructure has surged since the launch of generative AI services, pushing technology companies to commit hundreds of billions of dollars to data centers filled with advanced chips. Power availability, transmission access, land, cooling, and construction-ready sites have become major constraints for the industry. Companies once judged mainly on bitcoin production, energy costs, and hash rate are now being valued partly on their ability to lease large-scale capacity to AI customers.
Sector-Wide Rally Following Contract Announcements
The Hut 8 announcement helped lift peers across the high-performance computing and bitcoin mining sector. IREN gained as much as 19% after announcing $2.8 billion in new multiyear cloud services contracts with AI developers. The company raised its year-end AI Cloud annualized run-rate revenue target to more than $4 billion and said about 85% of that revenue is now under contract.
Cipher Mining rose 11%, TeraWulf added 6.4%, Riot Platforms advanced 5%, and MARA Holdings climbed 9%. The CoinShares Bitcoin Miners ETF rose 8.5%. The reaction shows how sensitive the sector has become to AI contract announcements, as investors look for evidence that miners can convert power assets into durable infrastructure revenue. Large leases with investment-grade customers offer that evidence because they reduce reliance on bitcoin price cycles and provide clearer visibility into future cash flows.
Market Concerns Over AI Infrastructure Capacity
The share-price jump followed several weeks of weaker sentiment toward AI infrastructure companies. Investors had begun questioning whether the industry's rapid spending on data centers could continue without creating excess capacity. Those concerns grew after Chinese firms released open-source AI models that appeared to require less computing power than Western rivals. Reports that Meta Platforms was considering a cloud service to rent AI computing capacity also raised questions about whether new supply from large technology companies could pressure independent data center operators.
Hut 8's 15-year agreement with an investment-grade customer provides a commercial base stronger than speculative capacity plans. The deal highlights the importance of power-secured campuses at a time when electricity availability remains one of the hardest bottlenecks in the AI buildout.
FAQ
What did Hut 8 announce on Monday?
Hut 8 announced a second 15-year lease worth $9.8 billion with an existing investment-grade customer, covering 352 megawatts of IT capacity at its Beacon Point campus in Texas and doubling the tenant's total contracted footprint to 704 MW.
How did other bitcoin mining stocks perform after Hut 8's announcement?
IREN gained as much as 19%, Cipher Mining rose 11%, TeraWulf added 6.4%, Riot Platforms advanced 5%, MARA Holdings climbed 9%, and the CoinShares Bitcoin Miners ETF rose 8.5%.
When will Hut 8 begin delivering the first Phase 2 data hall at Beacon Point?
Hut 8 expects to begin delivering the first Phase 2 data hall in the second quarter of 2028.
