Bitcoin mining company Hut 8 (HUT) shares rose nearly 12% in pre-market trading amid social media speculation that it is building a data center with Meta Platforms (META).
CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI), which provides access to the Bitcoin mining industry, also rose nearly 3 percent on these developments. However, no official partnership announcement was made between Hut 8 or Meta.
Earlier this month, Meta announced plans to build a $10 billion artificial intelligence (AI) data center in Richland Parish, Louisiana.
There are similarities between AI data centers and Bitcoin mining facilities in terms of hardware, processing power, and energy requirements, and some Bitcoin mining companies have begun to allocate resources to AI computing to diversify their revenue streams.
Hut 8’s financial situation
Hut 8 previously announced a $500 million ATM offering and a $250 million stock buyback program. The company said it produced a total of 94 BTC in November, down 6 percent from the previous month. Hut 8 currently holds 9,122 BTC (about $921 million) on its balance sheet, making it the seventh-largest Bitcoin holder among publicly traded companies.
Stay tuned for new information.