Bitcoin mining companies used to have a simple pitch: cheap electricity plus specialized hardware equals profit. That pitch got a lot more interesting when they realized the same formula works even better for AI.
Hut 8 and Riot Platforms, two of North America’s most prominent public miners, are both sprinting toward high-performance computing infrastructure. On May 6, Hut 8 announced a $9.8 billion, 15-year AI data center lease that sent its stock up 35% in a single session. Riot Platforms jumped 13% the same day on news of expanded AI-related revenue through its AMD partnership. The market’s message was clear: it likes this pivot.
The numbers behind the transformation
Hut 8 controls over 675 MW of power capacity across North America and currently manages five HPC data centers alongside its mining operations. Riot operates one of the continent’s largest mining campuses, with a 750 MW facility in Rockdale, Texas, and plans to expand its Corsicana site to a full gigawatt.
Hut 8’s new lease deal tripled its contracted capacity to 597 MW, with potential renewals that could exceed $25 billion over the life of the agreement.
