The “crypto miner” label is becoming a relic of the past for Hut 8 (HUT).
In a move that signals a massive strategic shift, Hut 8 announced a $7 billion deal to build a data center complex in Louisiana for Anthropic (ANTH.PVT). The move effectively trades the volatility of bitcoin (BTC-USD) for the high-margin stability of AI infrastructure.
“We think that the value of energy will continue to go up, and so for us, we [had] to be patient and figure out what was a fair deal that added value to our customers, but that drove a strong return to our shareholders,” Hut 8 CEO Asher Genoot told Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid.
The market is rewarding the transformation. The energy infrastructure company’s stock surged roughly 20% on Wednesday following the announcement as investors cheered its potential to secure blue-chip partners in a crowded field.
Beyond the one-day pop, the stock has been a standout in the mining-to-AI pivot, fueled by the company’s deep energy assets and its strategic partnership with American Bitcoin (ABTC), a Trump family enterprise in which Hut 8 holds a 60% stake. Year to date, Hut 8 stock is up 90%.
The linchpin of the Louisiana project is a financial guarantee from Google (GOOG, GOOGL), which guarantees payments of the 15-year lease if Fluidstack, an AI cloud infrastructure provider, cannot meet them. The deal secures 245 megawatts (MW) of capacity, with the possibility to scale up to 2,300 MW within that timeframe — a move that could swell the total lease value to $17.7 billion.
“We’re very excited because it’s the first domino to fall,” Genoot said. “If we’re able to continue to scale and build up to that full strategic partnership on 2,300 MW, we see a lot of growth upside for the company and the deal overall.”
The creditworthiness was the key. Genoot noted that without Google’s involvement, securing project financing from titans like JPMorgan (JPM) and Goldman Sachs (GS) at favorable rates would have been nearly impossible.
He added that Google has a “strong core business,” including diversified cash flows from Search, YouTube, and cloud services, making the tech giant’s pledge the ultimate security for a 15-year infrastructure play.
However, securing the money is only half the battle. Competitors have seen their stocks hammered due to construction delays. Genoot claims Hut 8 has de-risked the execution side, partly by issuing a “conservative delivery schedule” and tapping local labor.
The company has turned to established industrial partners, including Jacobs Engineering for design and local contractors like Cajun Electric for electrical services. By scheduling the first data hall delivery for Q2 2027, Genoot said the company is avoiding the “crunch” of unrealistic timelines that has plagued the sector.
