Riot Platforms and Hut 8 have liquidated thousands of bitcoin to finance divergent strategic priorities, with Riot funding artificial intelligence infrastructure leases and Hut 8 supporting share repurchases. Riot sold 20,264 bitcoin for approximately $1.5 billion this year, while Hut 8 disposed of 3,102 bitcoin since July to fund $250 million in stock buybacks.
Riot Pivots to AI Infrastructure
Riot Platforms signed a 15-year triple-net lease with an unnamed Frontier AI Lab for its entire Corsicana, Texas campus. The agreement covers 910 megawatts of critical IT capacity and is valued at about $28 billion over the initial term. CEO Jason Les stated that expected net operating income would exceed $2 billion annually at full deployment.
The company also secured additional commitments at its Beacon Point site, where a tenant doubled its obligation with a second 352-megawatt lease. This addition brings the total contracted value across the Beacon Point campus to approximately $19.6 billion.
These infrastructure developments contrast with declining mining metrics. Riot’s mining revenue fell 28 percent to $116 million as the average bitcoin price dropped to $70,855 from $114,361 a year earlier. Total revenue remained flat year over year at $181.4 million. The company produced 1,637 bitcoin in the quarter at an average cost of $39,265 before depreciation and held 2,418 bitcoin worth about $202 million at the end of September.
Hut 8 Expands Capital Returns
Hut 8 sold approximately 954 bitcoin for $74.8 million in the third quarter and another 2,148 bitcoin for $175.4 million in October. These proceeds funded the retirement of 3.3 million shares. On Nov. 2, the board raised the share repurchase authorization to $1 billion. CEO Asher Genoot said shareholders now own a larger share of a growing platform following repurchases funded with bitcoin from the balance sheet.
The company reported holding about 16,787 bitcoin across the parent and its majority-owned subsidiary, American Bitcoin, as of Sept. 30, valued at $1.4 billion. Hut 8 also closed a $1.07 billion senior secured revolving credit facility, which was undrawn at quarter-end, and agreed to buy two energized West Texas sites with up to 230 megawatts of capacity for up to $180 million.
Hut 8 posted a quarterly net income of $189.5 million, driven by $413.8 million in gains on digital assets. Revenue declined to $71.1 million from $83.5 million, while Adjusted EBITDA was $33 million. Following the announcements, Hut 8’s stock fell 17 percent, while Riot’s shares rose approximately 13 percent.
