Riot shares rise 13% on $28bn AI lease as Hut 8 falls 22% on revenue miss
Riot Platforms secures a 15-year, 910 MW contract with Anthropic, while Hut 8 reports a quarterly loss and higher costs.
Key takeaways
- 1Riot shares rose over 13 percent on a $28 billion AI lease announcement
- 2The lease covers 910 MW and adds to $38 billion in total contracted revenue
- 3Riot sold 10,599 BTC in Q3 to fund AI expansion
- 4Hut 8 shares fell over 22 percent after Q3 revenue dropped 15 percent to $71.1 million
- 5Hut 8 has $7.5 billion in bonds for AI projects that are not yet earning revenue
Riot Platforms shares climbed more than 13 percent on Wednesday after the company announced a $28 billion, 15-year lease for its AI data center in Corsicana, Texas. The deal covers 910 megawatts and lifts Riot’s total contracted data center revenue to approximately $38 billion across three agreements signed this year. Cointelegraph reported the company estimates capital costs at $5.5 billion, to be financed by debt backed by lease payments, though financing is not yet secured. The first phase is due in September 2027, with rent starting within 60 days of delivery.
Riot’s third-quarter revenue reached $181.4 million, a 1 percent year-on-year increase. The company sold 10,599 BTC during the quarter to fund its AI expansion. CEO Jason Les said on the earnings call that mining at Corsicana could end by summer 2027. Les noted that nearly all expected cash flow will come from long-term AI leases rather than Bitcoin mining.
Hut 8 Mining shares dropped more than 22 percent on Wednesday after the firm reported third-quarter revenue of $71.1 million, down 15 percent. MarketBeat data showed this missed analyst estimates of $75.8 million. CFO Sean Glennan attributed the decline to asset sales and lower revenue per Bitcoin mined. Administrative costs also rose year-on-year. Glennan said legacy revenue is no longer the main growth driver.
CEO Asher Genoot described traditional AI data center construction as complex and slow. "Many of today’s data centers resemble NASA rocket programs—remarkable engineering, but complex, expensive, and slow to deliver," Genoot said. Hut 8 has secured $7.5 billion in project bonds to finance two major AI developments, but neither has started generating lease income. The company is transitioning from mining to infrastructure, a shift that is proving costly in the short term.
Bitcoin traded at $80,615, up 3.8 percent over 24 hours, according to YourKhabri data. The move highlights a sector-wide pivot from hash power to AI infrastructure. Traders will watch how miners manage debt financing as these long-term leases begin to generate cash flow.
Reported and edited by the YourKhabri desk under our editorial policy. Nothing here is investment advice.