CoinDesk
Benchmark nearly doubled its price target on Hut 8 to $165 from $85, reiterating its buy rating and arguing the company's Beacon Point AI data center campus repositions Hut 8 from a Bitcoin miner into a power-first data center developer. The new target implies roughly 65% upside from the recent price near $100, and comes even as HUT shares have fallen nearly 30% over the past six weeks.
Analyst Mark Palmer framed the upgrade around Hut 8's commercialized hyperscale pipeline rather than its mining fleet. The company has signed two 15-year, triple-net, take-or-pay leases covering 597 megawatts of IT capacity at its River Bend, Louisiana, and Beacon Point, Texas, campuses. Benchmark estimates those agreements represent $16.8 billion in contracted base-term lease value, rising to $42.8 billion if tenants exercise renewal options. Beacon Point's first phase alone carries $9.8 billion in base-term contract value and roughly $655 million in average annual net operating income, according to the Tuesday report.
Why it matters
Hut 8 is one of several publicly traded miners that have redirected portions of their power and infrastructure footprint toward AI workloads, alongside Core Scientific, Hive Digital and Bit Digital. The bet is structural: long-dated hyperscale contracts produce steadier, higher-margin revenue than the boom-bust economics of Bitcoin mining, while letting miners monetize stranded power capacity that would otherwise sit idle between BTC halvings. Benchmark's $4.25 billion investment-grade project financing for Beacon Point, following $3.25 billion for River Bend, is the validation point. Lower-cost capital on long-duration contracts is the model the broker is underwriting.
Market impact
The thesis hinges on the 9-gigawatt development pipeline sitting behind the two commercialized campuses. Each new megawatt Hut 8 brings online under a similar lease structure adds incremental contracted value at a multiple that public miners rarely command. Benchmark flagged that second-quarter results will be distorted by mark-to-market on Bitcoin holdings and the consolidation of American Bitcoin, noise that can muddy the AI story for one more print.
Frequently asked questions
-
Why did Benchmark raise Hut 8's price target to $165?
Benchmark nearly doubled its target to reflect the value of Hut 8's Beacon Point AI data center campus, which the broker estimates adds $9.8 billion in base-term contract value alone and shifts Hut 8's identity from a Bitcoin miner to a power-first data center developer.
-
How much lease value has Hut 8 secured from AI hyperscale customers?
Hut 8 has signed two 15-year, triple-net, take-or-pay leases covering 597 megawatts at River Bend, Louisiana and Beacon Point, Texas. Benchmark values those at $16.8 billion in contracted base-term lease value, rising to $42.8 billion if tenants exercise renewal options.
-
How is Hut 8 funding its AI data center buildout?
Hut 8 closed $4.25 billion of investment-grade project financing for Beacon Point after raising $3.25 billion for River Bend. The lower-cost debt on long-duration contracts is the mechanism converting development assets into contracted cash flow.
-
What is Hut 8's development pipeline beyond the two signed campuses?
Benchmark highlighted a pipeline totaling more than 9 gigawatts across projects under exclusivity, development, construction and management, framing it as the multi-year runway behind the upgraded target.
-
Which other Bitcoin miners are pivoting power capacity into AI workloads?
Core Scientific, Hive Digital and Bit Digital are pursuing the same strategy of redirecting power and infrastructure toward AI hyperscale customers, betting long-dated contracts produce steadier revenue than cryptocurrency mining alone.
CoinTelegraph
WatcherGuru
Crypto News
WuBlockchain