Quick Breakdown
- Expansion: Hut 8 to add 1.5 GW across Texas, Louisiana, Illinois.
- Market Impact: Stock jumps 10.5% on Nasdaq after announcement.
- Industry Context: U.S. miners control 75.4% of global hashrate, with over 31,000 jobs created in 2024.
Hut 8 has unveiled plans to add 1.5 gigawatts of capacity across four new sites in Texas, Louisiana, and Illinois. The expansion comes as U.S. miners tighten their grip on the global Bitcoin hashrate and diversify into energy-intensive industries such as artificial intelligence.
Shares Surge on Expansion News
The company’s announcement on Tuesday sparked a sharp rally in its stock price, with shares on Nasdaq climbing as much as 10.5%, according to Google Finance. Hut 8 said its current 1-gigawatt platform is already operating at nearly 90% capacity, making the new buildout a strategic move to meet growing demand.
“By advancing more than 1.5 gigawatts of capacity… we position ourselves to more than double the scale of our platform and address accelerating demand across energy-intensive use cases,”
said Hut 8 CEO Asher Genoot.
U.S. Miners Dominate Global Hashrate
According to fintech platform OneSafe, American miners now control 75.4% of the global Bitcoin hashrate. The U.S. mining industry has also emerged as a significant job creator, adding more than 31,000 jobs in 2024. Other major players alongside Hut 8 include CleanSpark, Core Scientific, and Gryphon Digital Mining.
Hut 8 noted that the upcoming facilities will support not just Bitcoin mining, but also high-performance computing and next-generation industrial applications. The company has already begun supplying energy to artificial intelligence projects, highlighting its shift into broader infrastructure markets.
State-Level Rules Shape Expansion
Hut 8’s decision to expand into Texas, Louisiana, and Illinois comes as states adopt different approaches to Bitcoin mining regulation. In Texas, the operators of facilities above 75 megawatts must register with the Public Utility Commission, as grid reliability concerns grow amid rising energy demand.
Louisiana lawmakers passed a pro-mining bill in June 2024 to attract industrial investment, while also banning central bank digital currencies and affirming citizens’ right to self-custody.
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