Riot’s $9.1B AI Deal and Keel’s Exit Split Bitcoin Miners
Bitcoin miners are entering a more consequential phase of the artificial intelligence trade, where the question is no longer whether mining sites can host AI workloads, but which operators can convert cheap power and existing infrastructure into long-duration contracts.
Summary:
- Riot signed a 20-year, 191 MW data center lease worth about $9.1 billion.
- Barron’s identified the customer as Anthropic, while Riot described it only as a leading frontier AI lab.
- Riot now has 241 MW of contracted AI capacity after its earlier AMD deal.
- Keel Infrastructure is taking the opposite route by shutting U.S. Bitcoin mining and reallocating capital toward AI and HPC.
Riot Platforms has provided the clearest example yet, signing a 20-year lease for 191 MW of critical IT capacity at its Rockdale, Texas campus that it expects to generate roughly $9.1 billion in revenue. Riot did not name the customer, describing it as a leading frontier AI lab, although Barron’s reported that the tenant is Anthropic, citing a source familiar with the agreement.
Riot has turned Rockdale from a mining site into a contracted AI asset
The scale of the agreement changes the economics of Riot’s data center business.
The base contract runs through June 2048 and includes two five-year extension options. If both are exercised, Riot estimates total contract value could reach approximately $16.1 billion. Management expects cumulative net operating income of between $7.3 billion and $8.2 billion over the initial term, equivalent to roughly $365 million to $411 million annually.
Deployment will occur in stages. Riot expects to deliver an initial 96 MW in December 2027, with the full 191 MW online by June 2028. Morgan Stanley has provided a $573 million interim financing facility to fund initial development while an investment-grade credit backstop is finalized.
That financing structure is important because AI conversion is capital intensive. Power access may already exist, but high-density compute requires different cooling, networking, redundancy and building standards than Bitcoin mining. Riot therefore still has to spend heavily before the contracted revenue begins flowing at full scale.
The customer commitment materially lowers one of the biggest risks associated with those upgrades: building expensive infrastructure before finding an institutional tenant.
The AMD deal was the proof point. Anthropic changes the scale
Riot’s AI strategy did not begin with the new contract.
Earlier this year, the company signed a data center lease with AMD at Rockdale. Riot has already completed the initial 25 MW deployment, while another 25 MW is under construction, taking AMD’s planned capacity to 50 MW.
Combined with the new 191 MW lease, Riot now has 241 MW of contracted critical IT capacity, representing approximately $9.8 billion in long-term contracted revenue.
The distinction between the two contracts is meaningful.
AMD demonstrated that Riot could retrofit and deliver institutional-grade infrastructure on time. The Anthropic deal, if the customer identification reported by Barron’s is correct, demonstrates that Riot can secure a tenant at a scale large enough to transform the company’s future revenue mix.
AI revenue is already becoming visible in Riot’s accounts
The pivot is no longer only a pipeline story.
According to the official disclosure, Riot generated $174.2 million in second-quarter revenue, up 14% from $153 million a year earlier. Data center revenue contributed $23.2 million, including $4.9 million from operating leases and $18.3 million from tenant fit-out services.
Bitcoin mining still accounted for the majority of revenue at $113.7 million, but that business is becoming less attractive on a relative basis.
Riot’s average cost to mine one Bitcoin, excluding depreciation, rose to $49,912, while Bitcoin mining revenue declined from $140.9 million a year earlier. Higher network hash rate and operating costs continue to compress the economics of pure mining even when companies operate at industrial scale.
AI hosting provides a fundamentally different revenue profile. Instead of relying primarily on Bitcoin price, network difficulty and block rewards, Riot can lock in multi-decade contractual cash flows tied to power and infrastructure capacity.
That does not make AI risk-free, but it reduces dependence on one volatile commodity-like revenue stream.
Keel shows what the more aggressive version of the pivot looks like
Riot is diversifying away from Bitcoin mining without abandoning it. Keel Infrastructure, formerly Bitfarms, is going further.
Keel reported second-quarter revenue of approximately $30.4 million, down from about $60.9 million a year earlier, while its net loss widened to roughly $65 million. Its operating loss reached approximately $141 million, partly reflecting accelerated depreciation associated with the shutdown of mining infrastructure.
The company has completed the decommissioning of its U.S. Bitcoin mining operations and is repositioning its power assets toward AI and high-performance computing. It is also monetizing its Bitcoin treasury to finance that transition.
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As of August 7, Keel reported roughly $819 million of liquidity, including around $698 million in unrestricted cash and $121 million of unencumbered Bitcoin. Management has said it intends to liquidate its remaining Bitcoin holdings during 2026.
The contrast with Riot is useful.
Riot is using Bitcoin mining to fund and support a growing data center business while retaining substantial BTC exposure. Keel has decided that the opportunity cost of keeping capital tied to mining and Bitcoin is too high relative to its AI infrastructure ambitions.
Two very different AI pivots
- Riot Platforms: Keeps Bitcoin mining, adds contracted AI tenants and converts existing power capacity into a second major business.
- Keel Infrastructure: Exits U.S. Bitcoin mining, sells Bitcoin holdings and redirects liquidity toward HPC and AI development.
- Riot’s advantage: Large signed contracts already provide visibility into future revenue.
- Keel’s challenge: The company has substantial liquidity but still needs to convert its infrastructure pipeline into comparable long-term customer commitments.
The valuable asset is no longer the mining rig
The broader industry implication is becoming harder to ignore.
Bitcoin miners historically competed on hash rate, electricity cost and access to efficient mining hardware. AI changes the valuation framework. The most valuable asset may increasingly be energized land with approved grid connections, especially in regions where large new power allocations can take years to secure.
Riot already has power infrastructure at Rockdale and other campuses. That allows it to offer AI customers something in unusually short supply: megawatts that can be converted into high-density compute without waiting for an entirely new grid connection.
This explains why investors are beginning to value some miners less like commodity producers and more like data center developers.
The transition also creates a natural separation inside the sector. Operators with attractive power portfolios, strong balance sheets and suitable locations may be able to secure hyperscale AI tenants. Miners without those advantages could remain dependent on Bitcoin economics even as competitors lock in multi-year infrastructure revenue.
Execution now matters more than the headline contract value
Riot’s $9.1 billion figure is compelling, but most of that revenue lies years in the future.
The first 96 MW is not expected until late 2027, and full deployment is scheduled for mid-2028. Construction costs, supply-chain execution and financing therefore remain meaningful risks before the economics of the contract are fully realized. Riot itself identifies delays, permitting, financing and technical challenges among the factors that could affect its data center plans.
The next milestone is operational rather than promotional: delivering the initial Anthropic capacity on schedule while completing AMD’s expansion at Rockdale.
If Riot executes, the company will have demonstrated that a Bitcoin mining campus can be converted into a large-scale institutional AI platform without shutting down the original business. Keel is testing the alternative thesis, that maximizing the value of the same class of power assets requires leaving Bitcoin mining behind altogether.
The information presented in this article is intended for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as financial, investment, or trading advice. Coinspress.com does not promote or advocate for any particular investment strategy, asset, or cryptocurrency project. Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile and unpredictable – always perform your own research and seek guidance from a qualified financial professional before making any investment decisions.
Alexander Zdravkov
Reporter at CoinsPress
Alexander Zdravkov is a market analyst and crypto journalist with interests in economics, broader financial markets and digital assets. His journey into crypto began more than four years ago, driven by a fascination with the rapid evolution of blockchain technology and the transformative potential of decentralized finance. He began analyzing market cycles and identifying emerging trends before they reach the mainstream. He holds a degree in International Relations - a background that helped shape his broader perspective on global economics, geopolitics, and the interconnected nature of modern financial markets. Whether covering the latest developments in the crypto sector or exploring broader macroeconomic themes, Alexander focuses on giving readers context rather than simply repeating headlines. During his career, he has authored more than 10,000 articles covering cryptocurrencies, traditional finance, and global market developments. His work spans everything from Bitcoin and altcoins to macroeconomic trends influencing risk assets worldwide.
