Hut 8 Secures $7B, 15-Year AI Data Center Lease Backed by Google
Bitcoin miner Hut 8 has entered into a 15-year, $7 billion lease to supply 245 megawatts of artificial intelligence data center capacity at its River Bend campus in Louisiana, in what the company described as one of the largest infrastructure arrangements linking a crypto-native firm to hyperscale AI demand.
The company said on Wednesday that infrastructure provider Fluidstack will lease the capacity, while Google will serve as a financial backstop covering lease payments and related obligations for the 15-year base term. Under the structure, Google will assume payments if Fluidstack cannot meet its obligations.
“River Bend reflects the strength of Hut 8’s power-first, innovation-driven development model, validated by the world-class counterparties we are executing alongside,” said Hut 8 CEO Asher Genoot, noting the agreement stemmed from disciplined and patient execution.
Hut 8 said initial site work has begun. The first data hall is slated for completion and commissioning in the second quarter of 2027, with additional halls expected to come online over the following year.
Google backstop and institutional financing reduce delivery risk
A key component of the agreement is Google’s role as a financial backstop, covering both pass-through obligations and lease payments over the base term. Hut 8 and Fluidstack also plan to execute an operations services agreement for ongoing data center management, supported by an additional payment guarantee from Google.
Project financing will utilize loans secured by the data center, with major banks expected to fund most construction costs, lowering Hut 8’s upfront capital requirements.
“River Bend demonstrates how, when Hut 8 brings together innovative thinking, an aligned team, and institutional discipline, it translates into real, enduring value,” said Noah Wintroub, global chairman of investment banking at JPMorgan Chase.
The agreement expands Hut 8’s participation in AI infrastructure, which began in 2024. In September 2024, the company launched a GPU-as-a-Service offering through its subsidiary Highrise AI and deployed more than 1,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs to support cloud-based AI compute services.
Crypto-native firms secure multi-billion-dollar AI infrastructure deals
In June, Core Scientific announced a $3.5 billion agreement with AI cloud provider CoreWeave to lease infrastructure over a 12-year term, which is expected to produce $290 million in annual revenue.
In August, Galaxy Digital accelerated the expansion of its Helios AI data center in Texas after obtaining a $1.4 billion loan expected to cover about 80% of construction costs.
CoreWeave also signed a 15-year agreement to lease power, cooling, and physical data center infrastructure from Galaxy Digital to support AI and high-performance computing workloads. Galaxy said the arrangement is expected to generate about $1 billion in annual revenue.
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