Riot Platforms shares surged over 25% in after-hours trading following the identification of Anthropic as the customer behind its $9.1 billion data center deal, with the company securing 191 megawatts of power capacity at its Rockdale, Texas campus over 20 years. According to Bloomberg reports, the agreement runs for 20 years through June 2048 and is expected to generate about $9.1 billion of revenue during the initial term, with two five-year renewal options potentially increasing its value to approximately $16.1 billion. The lease is worth up to $16.1 billion with extensions, prompting rival miners TeraWulf, Cipher Mining, and Hut 8 to rally in sympathy. Riot closed Monday up 4.33%, while Cipher Mining gained 5.39%, TeraWulf rose 3.40%, and Hut 8 added 3.39%. However, Bitcoin slipped 0.49% over the same period and continues struggling to move beyond the $62,000 – $65,000 range.
The latest agreement reveals specific deployment timelines that demonstrate Riot's accelerated AI infrastructure buildout. The first phase will deliver 96 MW of capacity, expected to be operational by the end of 2027, with full deployment of all 191 MW slated for June 2028. This represents Riot's second major AI infrastructure lease in 2026, following a January contract with AMD for an additional 50 MW at the same Texas site. Combined with the Anthropic deal, Riot has now committed roughly 241 MW to AI-related leases, translating to approximately $9.8 billion in contracted revenue. The company's strategic pivot toward AI infrastructure offers predictable, long-duration cash flows that contrast with the volatile nature of Bitcoin mining revenue, which fluctuates with price and halving cycles.
Needham raised its price target on Riot stock from $28.50 to $30 on August 10, citing the 191-MW lease agreement with Anthropic as the primary driver for the upgrade. The firm reiterated a buy rating on the stock, with the current price of $19.40 representing an upside of 54.6% to Needham's new target. The analyst upgrade reflects growing confidence in Riot's strategic pivot toward AI infrastructure, with the company now executing leases totaling 241 megawatts of capacity representing approximately $9.8 billion in contracted revenue. This represents a significant shift from traditional Bitcoin mining operations to high-value AI data center leases, with the 20-year contract with a well-funded counterparty like Anthropic providing the kind of revenue visibility that crypto mining simply cannot offer.
The lease agreement comes at a cost to Riot's Bitcoin holdings, which fell 27% to 11,380 Bitcoin at June 30 from 15,679 three months earlier, representing a drawdown of 4,300 coins. As reported by BeInCrypto, the company sold monthly output and treasury reserves to fund its AI buildout at Rockdale. Riot sold 5,887 Bitcoin in the second quarter, 56% more than the 3,778 sold during the first three months of the year, with second-quarter sales being about 3.7 times the 1,587 Bitcoin Riot produced. The company also used about 1,080 Bitcoin in January to fund the $96 million purchase of land beneath its Rockdale, Texas, facility. Riot CEO Jason Les described the shift in the company's second-quarter earnings statement, noting that Riot has now executed leases totaling 241 megawatts of capacity, representing approximately $9.8 billion of long-term, contracted revenue with two of the most important companies in the AI ecosystem.
For the broader crypto mining industry, Riot's trajectory may serve as a template for companies seeking to diversify beyond traditional Bitcoin mining. Companies like Core Scientific have already inked similar deals, with the $9.8 billion in contracted AI revenue that Riot has accumulated in just two deals suggesting the market is pricing these companies not as crypto plays, but as energy infrastructure businesses. However, the transition requires significant operational changes, as building out high-density AI data centers requires different engineering than Bitcoin mining facilities, with more demanding cooling requirements and higher redundancy standards. Riot will need to deliver on these standards by the end of 2027 to capture the first tranche of revenue from its Anthropic deal, representing a fundamental shift in the company's operational focus and revenue composition. The broader market is increasingly valuing publicly traded Bitcoin miners for their power capacity and data-center assets rather than solely for Bitcoin production, reducing dependency on Bitcoin price fluctuations and mining variables that have historically made miner stocks volatile.
