Bitcoin mining company Hut 8 (HUT) announced on December 17 the signing of an agreement with technology company FluidStack to build an artificial intelligence (AI)-oriented data center.
As reported, Google acts as financial support of the contractby covering the lease payments and associated obligations that FluidStack must face in the event of default.
This does not imply a direct capital outlay, but rather a support that significantly reduces the risk of the project.
The pact signed with FluidStack, valued at USD 7 billioncontemplates a 15-year lease for a 245 megawatt (MW) data center at the River Bend campus, located in the US, according to reported the Hut 8 team.
Under this scheme, Hut 8’s income is backed by a high investment grade company such as Google, which mitigates the risk of tenant default.
For FluidStack, meanwhile, the technology’s support allows it to assume long-term, high-value commitments with limited financial risk.
Hut 8 provides the physical and energy infrastructureincluding the campus, access to electricity and the technical conditions necessary to operate a high-demand data center.
FluidStack, meanwhile, manages and markets that computing capacity, connecting clients that require computing power with available resources.
More information about the agreement between Hut 8 and FluidStack
The contract includes three renewal options for five years that could raise its total value to approximately 17.7 billion dollars.
At the same time, the agreement grants FluidStack a right of first refusal to access up to 1,000 additional megawatts of technological capacity in future stages of campus expansion, reinforcing the long-term nature of the project.
Regarding timelines and funding, the River Bend Campus’ first data pavilion is on schedule for completion and enter into operation during the second quarter of 2027while the rest of the facilities will be enabled throughout that same year.
The project, according to the statement, will be structured with financing, with up to 85% of the cost covered by debt, which would be led by JP Morgan as the main underwriter, together with Goldman Sachs, subject to the closing of the definitive agreements.
A pattern that Google has already applied with another Bitcoin miner
Google’s support for Bitcoin mining companies is not an isolated event.
In mid-August, CriptoNoticias reported that the company had also backed TeraWulf (WULF), another firm dedicated to BTC mining.
In that case, Google initially contributed about $1.8 billion to cover WULF’s obligations.
It subsequently pledged to expand its guarantee by $1.4 billion to finance the construction of a new data center in exchange for WULF shares.
With this, Google’s total backing amounted to approximately $3.2 billion and its shareholding in TeraWulf to approximately 14%.
The market reacts to Google’s support
The announcement of the deal between Hut 8 and FluidStack, along with support from Google, had an impact on the stock market.
As happened with TeraWulf after learning of the technology company’s support, the shares of Hut 8 recorded a significant increase.
In the case of HUT 8, on December 17 its shares went from trading around $37 to a maximum of $44.40, which represents a approximate increase of 20%.
Finally, at the close of this note, the company’s shares are trading around $41.30.