Bitcoin mining company Terrawolf has signed a $19 billion 20-year lease agreement with AI company Anthropic. The background is a strategic shift in business models driven by deteriorating mining revenues and explosive growth in demand for AI data centers.
A massive billion contract and a Kentucky base
On July 6, 2026, TeraWulf announced that it had signed a long-term lease agreement with Anthropic for 20 years. This agreement is expected to generate approximately $19 billion (approximately 3.04 trillion yen, equivalent to 160 yen per dollar) in revenue during the initial period. The target is the Justified Data Campus located in Hawesville, Kentucky, USA, where approximately 401MW of AI infrastructure facilities will be gradually developed. The plan aims to begin partial operation in late 2027 and reach full operation of 401MW by early 2028. This facility will serve as a dedicated campus to support large-scale computational processes such as Anthropic’s AI model “Claude.” Through this contract, TerraWolf has succeeded in securing a stable long-term source of revenue that is not directly affected by Bitcoin’s price fluctuations or the halving.
Capital reallocation and sale of joint ventures
On the same day as the lease agreement was announced, Terrawolf also revealed it would sell its 50.1% stake in the AI data center joint venture in Abernathy, Texas. The sale is to a group of investors led by their partner Fluidstack, with the total sale expected to reach approximately $530 million. The company has invested about $450 million in this business, and this transaction will allow it to recover the funds at a premium. The proceeds from this sale are intended to be reinvested in a 100% owned AI infrastructure project that the company directly owns and fully controls its operations. It also aims to eliminate the complex accounting procedures of joint ventures and simplify financial reporting. By focusing on self-led operations, it clarifies its strategy to directly capture greater economic value from the entire AI infrastructure lifecycle.
Market Response and Industry Seismic Shifts
Stock price surge and investor evaluation
Following the announcement of a partnership with Anthropic, TerraWolf’s stock price (WULF) surged more than 12% in Monday morning trading, ultimately closing up 4.8% from the previous day at $22.21. Investors view this news as evidence that the company has transformed from a mere Bitcoin miner into a leading provider of AI infrastructure. Wall Street analysts also responded positively, with Compass Point significantly raising its target price from $28 to $40 and continuing its buy recommendation. The market is re-evaluating the company’s vast land holdings and power supply capacity as extremely rare assets amid the AI boom. Please refer to the chart below.
Business model shift from miners to AI infrastructure
Since the Bitcoin halving, the mining industry, where profitability has worsened, has accelerated efforts to redirect access to power grids into AI data centers. As Bitcoin production costs soar, the “large-capacity power securing capabilities” and “advanced cooling facilities” that miners have built up over the years have become coveted by AI companies seeking enormous computing power. Terrawolf’s financial results show that for the first time, HPC (high-performance computing)-related lease revenue has surpassed mining revenue, clearly confirming the shift to AI-focused data center business. The company is now shifting more toward infrastructure companies evaluated based on the reliability of power access, tenant credit, and contract duration, rather than a cryptocurrency cycle of hash rate competition. Dominating the “physical layer” of power supply is the source of new competitive advantages in the AI era.
Future Outlook and Potential Risks
Execution Risks and Difficulty of Building Infrastructure
While market expectations are high, ensuring the $19 billion in contract revenue is accompanied by significant execution risks. TerraWolf must complete an AI campus of unprecedented scale on schedule, secure server equipment, and continuously supply massive power without delay. AI infrastructure construction is extremely capital-intensive, and how to stably raise massive construction funds while avoiding shareholder value dilution has become a critical management issue. Additionally, AI data centers are equipped with specialized cooling systems and high-density power configurations, making it difficult to convert them to general cloud applications if AI demand declines in the future, raising concerns about the risk of assets running aground. Furthermore, nationwide, shortages of equipment such as transformers and waiting for connections to the power grid are becoming more severe, and development delays caused by these external factors cannot be ruled out as contract cancellations or huge missed opportunities.
The Future of the AI Data Center Boom
The next key point of interest will be the achievement of each milestone toward the launch in the latter half of 2027. A 20-year contract with a world-leading AI company like Anthropic provides a very strong credit force for the company, but investors are still cautiously assessing actual delivery capacity. It is estimated that the AI industry will need $5.2 trillion in infrastructure investment by the end of 2030, raising the question of how much market Terawolf can secure and differentiate itself from the self-built moves of hyperscalers like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. Anthropic’s recent move reflects the trend of AI labs accelerating their own infrastructure buildup, and the industry’s focus is on whether similar large-scale partnerships will ripple into other mining companies. The competition over the “physical limits” of AI infrastructure will remain at the forefront of the global economy and business scene for years to come.
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