CleanSpark and Bitfarms stocks rally as firms target US for HPC/AI expansions

CleanSpark’s Nasdaq-listed stock CLSK rallied as much as 5% on Wednesday after the firm announced it is looking to expand its U.S. footprint, according to The Block’s data.

According to a statement, the firm has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 447 acres of land in Brazoria County, Texas, with plans to develop a "large-scale data center." 

This represents Cleanspark’s second major expansion in the area, adding potentially 600 megawatts to its total output and boosting its total regional aggregate potential utility capacity to 890 MW, as it looks to expand its AI-related operations.

"The demand for scaled, AI-native compute continues to accelerate, and access to transmission-level power in strategically advantageous regions has become increasingly constrained," CleanSpark CEO Matt Schultz said. "This agreement underscores our ability to source and secure high-quality power at scale while building regional density that is highly attractive to leading AI and compute customers."

Indeed, CleanSpark is far from the only bitcoin miner that sees high-performance computing as a potentially lucrative area of growth and is investing thusly. It is also far from the only mining firm specifically targeting U.S. growth. 

Bitfarms US domicile

Toronto-based miner Bitfarms (Nasdaq: BITF), for instance, is positioning itself to redomicile in the United States, amid President Donald Trump’s ongoing support for physical bitcoin infrastructure projects.

Trump has said he wants the U.S. to become the bitcoin mining hub for the world. His eldest sons are major shareholders in American Bitcoin Corp. (ABTC), a subsidiary of Hut 8, which is also investing in multiple gigawatt-capable campuses in the U.S. to bolster its AI workloads.

On Wednesday, the firm appointed Edie Hofmeister as board chair, citing her experience leading multinational companies through "public and private offerings, NYSE and NASDAQ listings, intricate debt financings, joint ventures, complex litigation and multi-billion-dollar acquisitions."

"My experience building large-scale infrastructure and leading risk and governance functions has taught me the importance of strong foundations during periods of change," Hofmeister said. "As the Company advances its U.S. redomiciliation, my focus will be on maintaining strong governance foundations while supporting execution of Bitfarms’ HPC/AI growth strategy."

Hofmeister also noted that shifting Bitfarms’ headquarters south of the border will improve the firm’s access to U.S. capital pools, broaden its U.S. investor base, and boost its eligibility for inclusion in certain stock indices.

The firm recently fully exited from Latin America to refocus its energy portfolio on U.S.-based infrastructure.

AI operations

Cipher Mining Inc. (Nasdaq: CIFR), meanwhile, recently announced Bitcoin mining mainstay Lee Bratcher was joining the firm as head of policy and government affairs, alongside other senior executive hires and the acquisition of a 200 MG facility in Ohio — its first acquisition outside of Texas.

The Google- and Amazon-backed Cipher’s stock has rallied to a high above $25 from a low around $2 last year. CIFR is trading at about $18.30 on Wednesday, up about 3% in the past 24 hours, according to The Block’s data.

Other mining stocks, including IREN, Core Scientific (CORZ), and Hive Digital are increasingly associated more with AI infrastructure than crypto, while Riot and MARA are investing in their bitcoin operations in parallel with broadening their exposure to HPC/AI. 

As of the end of December, Bitdeer is now the largest bitcoin miner with a “total hash rate under management” surpassing 71 exahashes per second, compared to MARA’s "energized hashrate” of nearly 62 EH/s. The Singapore-based Bitdeer continues to invest in its bespoke SEALMINER chips and multiple HPC/AI operations in the U.S. in addition to facilities in Canada, Ethiopia, and Norway.

MARA CEO Fred Thiel said in a CNBC interview on Wednesday that Bitcoin mining infrastructure is vital for AI and sovereign compute, especially amid rising geopolitical tensions.