Hut 8 shares surge 35% following $9.8 billion infrastructure deal; neocloud consolidation accelerates.

Hut 8's shares rose over 35% following the announcement of a $9.8 billion lease agreement for the Beacon Point campus in Texas. An undisclosed tenant will utilize Hut 8's facilities to train neural networks based on NVIDIA architecture. Should the partner exercise all available extension options, the total contract value could exceed $25 billion.

CEO Asher Genut noted that the company is transforming from a cryptocurrency miner into an energy infrastructure platform, with access to electricity becoming a key competitive advantage in the tech industry. In the first quarter of 2026, Hut 8 reported a net loss of $253 million, compared to $134 million the previous year, though revenue increased to $71 million, driven almost entirely by computing services. By quarter-end, the company held cash and bitcoins worth $1.3 billion.

In a parallel development, Core Scientific acquired competitor Polaris DS LLC for $421 million, gaining access to 440 MW of capacity. The 40-acre Polaris facility is located near Core Scientific's existing data center in Muskogee, Oklahoma. The transaction is set to close in the third quarter of 2026, pending regulatory approval. Core Scientific shares (CORZ) rose 11% to $24.63 following the announcement.

CEO Adam Sullivan stated that the acquisition will help scale capacity to the gigawatt level, with the company constructing a new 82.5 MW facility in Muskogee to increase the campus's total capacity to 1 GW for AI leasing needs.

Hut 8-affiliated company American Bitcoin (ABTC), co-founded by Eric Trump, reported a first-quarter net loss of $81.8 million, compared to $59.5 million in the previous period. Mining revenue fell to $62.1 million, with losses primarily driven by a $117.2 million impairment of digital assets due to a 22% drop in bitcoin prices. Operating expenses reached $150.7 million. CEO Mike Ho characterized the loss as "paper," noting that excluding asset revaluation, the core business remains profitable. The company did not sell any coins during the quarter. The cost of mining one bitcoin decreased 23% to $36,200, while the company maintained gross margins above 50%. ABTC shares increased 1.63% to $1.25.

American startup Panthalassa, which is developing autonomous floating data centers powered by wave energy, raised $140 million in May at a valuation of approximately $1 billion.