TLDR
- Hut 8 submitted the winning $140 million bid for Poolin’s Pyote and Tarbush data center sites.
- The proposed sale still requires approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey.
- Hut 8’s offer nearly tripled Thor CALAP’s combined $52 million opening bids for the two facilities.
- Poolin entered Chapter 11 with about $173.1 million in obligations after closing its Texas operations.
- Hut 8 is expanding its AI infrastructure business with an 8.7-gigawatt development pipeline and 949 MW of contracted capacity.
Hut 8 has emerged as the winning bidder for bankrupt crypto miner Poolin’s two Texas data center sites. A Wednesday court filing lists its offer at $140 million, using cash and other consideration. The proposed purchase covers the Pyote and Tarbush facilities under one agreement.
Hut 8 Leads Poolin Asset Auction
The transaction still needs approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. The court has scheduled a sale hearing for Sept. 29. Poolin and two U.S. affiliates entered Chapter 11 in July after ending mining and hosting operations.
Hut 8’s offer far exceeded the opening bids from Thor CALAP. Thor offered $15 million for Pyote and $37 million for Tarbush, or $52 million combined. DigiPower X submitted a $36.5 million backup bid for Pyote during the auction process.
Pecos Industrial Development, acting for AI infrastructure company Fluidstack, offered $100.5 million for Tarbush. The competing bids show continued interest in power-ready data center properties. Recent CleanSpark data center financing also showed miners directing fresh capital toward computing infrastructure.
Poolin’s court filings list about $173.1 million in obligations. Poolin owes Poolin Wallet, users roughly $163.7 million through unsecured IOUs. Poolin froze wallet withdrawals in 2022 before its U.S. operations later entered bankruptcy.
AI Capacity Drives Data Center Expansion
The planned acquisition would add two Texas sites to Hut 8’s growing data center portfolio. Hut 8 reported an 8.7-gigawatt development pipeline in August, up about 300 megawatts from the prior quarter. The company continues shifting beyond bitcoin mining.
Other miners are following similar paths. IREN’s AI infrastructure expansion has also drawn investor attention while the company maintains bitcoin mining operations. Hut 8 has secured 949 megawatts of contracted AI infrastructure capacity across River Bend and Beacon Point.
The sector’s transition also includes MARA’s AI data center strategy, which has become part of the company’s broader infrastructure plans. Hut 8 estimates $26.6 billion in contract value from its River Bend and Beacon Point campuses.
Beacon Point recently received a conditional Base Load classification through ERCOT’s Batch Zero process. The classification lets the project retain its requested power amount while ERCOT continues its review. CEO Asher Genoot said during the second-quarter earnings call that demand for capacity remains robust.
