Will the Trump family's shift towards AI at Hut 8 lead to a sustainable stock recovery?

Bitcoin mining company Hut 8 announced on Wednesday a $7 billion AI data center leasing deal with cloud infrastructure provider Fluidstack. This move reflects a growing trend of crypto mining businesses shifting towards AI infrastructure.

Immediately after the announcement, Hut 8 shares surged, ending a long period of volatility and attracting renewed investor interest.

Inside Hut 8's standout AI leasing deal.

This agreement includes 245 megawatts of AI computing power located on Hut 8's River Bend campus in Louisiana for a 15-year basic lease.

The contract also includes three renewal options, each for five years, potentially raising the total contract value to approximately $17.7 billion if fully utilized. Additionally, Fluidstack has priority in leasing up to 1,000 megawatts as the site expands.

Beyond just the initial lease agreement, this deal is part of a larger collaboration between Hut 8 and AI developer Anthropic, with the ultimate goal of increasing capacity to 2.3 gigawatts.

Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet, will be the financial guarantor for the first lease term, demonstrating the strong interest of major cloud providers in securing a stable, long-term power supply for energy-intensive AI operations.

Hut 8 expects the project to generate approximately $6.9 billion in net operating profit during the first lease period.

Investors reacted positively, with Hut 8 shares rising approximately 20% before the start of trading immediately following the announcement.

This move demonstrates Hut 8's efforts to stabilize its business operations and reflects the general trend among Bitcoin mining companies to shift towards AI computing for continued sustainable growth.

The Bitcoin mining industry faces major structural changes.

Over the past year, Bitcoin mining has become increasingly challenging . Network difficulty has increased, Hash rates fluctuate constantly, electricity costs have risen, and the post-halving environment has further narrowed profitability.

Therefore, many listed mining companies that focus solely on Bitcoin are struggling to maintain stable profitability or build a clear growth story. To adapt, an increasing number of companies have chosen to diversify their operations instead of relying solely on traditional mining.

Simultaneously, the rapid development of artificial intelligence has caused a surge in demand for computing power. Since Bitcoin mining companies already possess large-scale industrial facilities and readily available power sources , the transition to AI data centers has become practical and increasingly necessary .

Hut 8 has recognized this overall picture, especially as its stock has experienced significant volatility recently due to the erratic fluctuations in Bitcoin prices.