Hut 8 and IREN sign billion-dollar deal in AI datacenter market

Two major names in the Bitcoin mining world are taking a significant step towards AI infrastructure. Hut 8 has completed the full commercialisation of its Beacon Point campus in Texas, while IREN is raising billions through new contracts with AI developers. The deals show how former miners are increasingly deploying their computing power for artificial intelligence rather than for crypto.

Hut 8 signs second megadeal for Beacon Point campus

Hut 8 has signed a second long-term lease agreement for its AI data centre campus in Texas. It concerns a 15-year contract worth $9.8 billion for a capacity of 352 MW of IT power. This means the entire 1 GW Beacon Point campus is now fully leased, reports PR Newswire.

The total contract value at campus level thus amounts to $19.6 billion over the full term. That is an impressive figure for a company that originally started as a Bitcoin miner. With this second lease, Hut 8 is taking a definitive step in its transformation into a full-fledged AI infrastructure company.

IREN raises $2.8 billion and increases revenue target

IREN also shows strong numbers. The company has signed $2.8 billion in new multi-year contracts with leading AI developers. Based on that growth, IREN has raised its target for annualised AI cloud revenue by the end of 2026 to more than $4 billion, according to GlobeNewswire.

The deals from both Hut 8 and IREN fit into a broader trend in which former Bitcoin miners are repurposing or expanding their infrastructure for AI applications. The large amounts of energy and computing power required for mining also prove highly suitable for running large AI models. While the Bitcoin price today stands at $65K with a rise of 1.3%, miners are thus actively seeking new revenue streams outside the crypto market.