Key Insights
- Hut 8 partners with Anthropic and Fluidstack in a major AI infrastructure deal.
- HUT stock price jumped 25% in response to the partnership.
- Bitcoin price faces selling pressure ahead of macro events.
Bitcoin mining firm Hut 8 announced an AI infrastructure partnership with Anthropic and Fluidstack. It has signed an AI data center lease at Riverbend Campus, with Google providing a financial backstop covering obligations.
The massive AI partnership news triggered an almost 18% surge in HUT stock on Wednesday, regaining confidence among investors.
Hut 8 Announces Major AI Partnership with Anthropic
In a press release on December 17, Hut 8 revealed a partnership with AI company Anthropic and infrastructure provider Fluidstack to develop and deliver hyperscale AI data center infrastructure in the United States.
The agreement outlines plans to deploy at least 245 megawatts (MW) and potentially up to 2,295 MW of AI data center capacity across multiple development phases.
The initial phase will start at the River Bend campus in Louisiana. The companies will develop 245 MW of IT capacity supported by 330 MW of utility capacity.
The partnership includes additional options for Anthropic to expand with up to 1,000 MW of additional capacity at River Bend, subject to power expansion at the site, and potentially another 1,050 MW across Hut 8’s broader development pipeline.
Commenting on the AI infrastructure partnership, Asher Genoot, CEO of Hut 8, said scaling frontier AI infrastructure is a core power challenge.
“Hut 8’s power-first, innovation-driven development model enables us to originate and develop greenfield data center sites at the pace and scale required by leading model developers,” he added.
James Bradbury, head at Anthropic, noted the partnership aims to bring additional capacity online by early 2027, while Fluidstack CEO Gary Wu highlighted his company’s role in designing, deploying, and operating the infrastructure.
Hut 8 currently manages 1,020 MW of energy capacity with an additional 330 MW under construction and 1,230 MW under development across 19 sites in the United States and Canada.
HUT Stock Pumps 25%
Notably, Bitcoin miners are entering AI industry amid massive demand. HUT stock jumped over 25% in premarket trading on Wednesday following the Bitcoin mining firm’s announcement of a partnership with AI firms.
The stock closed 3.98% higher at $36.85 on Tuesday. The intraday low and high were $34.18 and $37.12, respectively.
Recently, Citizens analysts reiterated an outperform rating for Hut 8. Analysts maintained a price target of $65 amid broader sector weakness.
Hut 8 was under pressure as it fell following Bitcoin’s drop below to $,000 level. The market downturn affected major crypto companies, with Hut 8 and Iris Energy each seeing a 12% drop in their stock prices.
Moreover, a business combination with American Bitcoin Corp changed the expected capital structure and share exchange. Along with other Bitcoin treasury firms, American Bitcoin also faced skepticism among investors.
As The Coin Republic reported earlier, Trump family-backed American Bitcoin expanded holdings to 5098 BTC. It has entered the top 20 Bitcoin treasury list.
Bitcoin Price Under Selling Pressure
BTC price remains under selling pressure as traders brace for key macroeconomic events later this week. Bitcoin fell 0.56% over the past 24 hours, with the price currently trading at $87,033.
The 24-hour low and high were $86,159 and $88,170, respectively. Trading volume has also dropped 24% amid a decline in interest among traders.
CoinGlass data showed mixed sentiment in the derivatives market. At the time of writing, the total BTC futures open interest fell 2% to $58.84 billion in the last 24 hours.