Core Scientific (CORZ) stock soars as the bitcoin-mining-turned-hosting operator announces Oklahoma datacenter facility reaching gigawatt scale.
Core Scientific (CORZ) stock rose more than 10% to a record high above $25 on Wednesday following the company's announcement of a major expansion at its Muskogee, Oklahoma campus. The Austin-based company, which transitioned from Bitcoin mining to AI infrastructure, plans to scale the site to 1.5 gigawatts of total power capacity, positioning it among the largest U.S. data center projects.
The expansion includes the acquisition of Polaris DS LLC, which will add 440 megawatts of operational power capacity. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026 and will be funded from existing liquidity. The campus already hosts one active tenant: a 70 megawatt facility leased and built to support NVIDIA's GB300 platform, currently in final testing with operations expected to begin in the second quarter of 2026.
Beyond the Polaris acquisition, Core Scientific is pursuing an aggressive development pipeline at the Muskogee site. The company has secured approximately 250 acres of land for future expansion and has begun construction on a second data center facility with 82.5 megawatts of capacity. Though currently without a tenant commitment, this facility is expected to be operational by late 2027. Core Scientific is also studying ways to increase its grid power capacity and has already begun the process of sourcing additional electricity supply.
"As our second expansion applying this approach, we are demonstrating the scalability of our model while growing a strategically important campus to support a broad range of high-density compute deployments," said CEO Adam Sullivan.
A cornerstone of the expansion strategy is the adoption of a "behind-the-meter" power setup, in which electricity is generated or sourced directly on-site rather than relying entirely on the public grid. The company stated this approach helps avoid the delays that have constrained data center growth in regions such as Virginia and Texas, positioning the Muskogee campus to serve enterprise and hyperscale customers more reliably.
The expansion reflects Core Scientific's broader strategic shift from Bitcoin mining toward AI infrastructure and compute services. The company maintains approximately 2,537 BTC on its balance sheet, valued at around $207 million at Bitcoin's price of $81,600. While Bitcoin mining remains part of the company's operations, its capital allocation and development pipeline are increasingly focused on long-term infrastructure serving enterprise and hyperscale customers.