TLDR
- CleanSpark won a 100-megawatt data center contract in Cheyenne, Wyoming, beating Microsoft for the deal
- The bitcoin mining company can deploy facilities in six months compared to three to six years for traditional AI data centers
- CleanSpark operates 1.03 gigawatts of energized facilities with another 1.7 gigawatts in development pipeline
- The company partnered with Submer to develop AI-focused data center campuses across North America
- Bitcoin miners have direct access to land, substations, and electricity that hyperscalers need but face delays obtaining
CleanSpark won a contract for a 100-megawatt site in Cheyenne, Wyoming, beating Microsoft in the process. The Las Vegas-based bitcoin mining company secured the deal despite having a market cap under $6 billion compared to Microsoft’s $4 trillion valuation.
The key factor was speed to market. CleanSpark can deploy a 100-megawatt bitcoin mining facility in about six months. Building a traditional AI data center takes three to six years.
“Certainly, Cheyenne didn’t select CleanSpark because we had a stronger balance sheet than Microsoft,” CEO Matt Schultz said on CNBC’s Crypto World. The company’s ability to rapidly scale infrastructure gave it the winning edge.
CleanSpark started as an energy company before shifting to bitcoin mining five years ago. The company now operates about 1.03 gigawatts of energized facilities. It has another 1.7 gigawatts in its development pipeline.
The strategy involves using bitcoin mining to quickly build and scale infrastructure. The company then identifies areas where converting facilities to high-performance compute and AI makes sense. Atlanta represents a prime location for this approach as the second-largest AI data center market on the East Coast after Northern Virginia.
Bitcoin Miners Have Built-In Advantages
Training and running AI models requires enormous power consumption. Companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are spending record amounts on new data centers. These hyperscalers face years of delays connecting to the grid despite signing deals with utility companies for nuclear reactors.
Bitcoin miners already own what’s hardest to obtain: land, substations, and direct access to electricity. “Hyperscalers are spending 60% of their free cash flow on capex to try and keep up with AI,” Schultz said.
On Tuesday, CleanSpark announced a partnership with Submer. The data center design and construction firm will work with CleanSpark to develop AI-focused campuses across North America. The collaboration combines CleanSpark’s energy and land portfolio with Submer’s liquid-cooled infrastructure systems.
CleanSpark’s shares have gained more than 100% this year. The pivot to AI also helps offset shrinking crypto margins after April’s bitcoin halving cut block rewards in half.
The company brought in around $198.6 million in revenue during the third quarter of fiscal 2025. This represented an increase of almost 91% year over year. CleanSpark holds 12,703 bitcoin in its corporate treasury.
Flexible Power Model Provides Extra Value
CleanSpark’s mining operations can shut down during grid stress and push electricity back into the system. AI data centers cannot easily do this because many agreements require uptime of 99.99999%.
“Blending a bitcoin mining facility with an AI data center gives you the ‘interrupt’ ability, the flexibility of those loads that the utility so desperately needs,” Schultz explained. When utilities signal increased grid demand, CleanSpark can curtail loads and redirect power rapidly.
This flexibility proved valuable in Georgia when Hurricane Helene damaged a local substation. CleanSpark powered down its rigs and redirected energy to the grid. The hospital’s lights came back on within an hour while crews restored community infrastructure.
Total annual electricity consumption in the United States reached a record high in 2024 according to government data. Data centers are expected to add more pressure to usage trends as the AI market continues growing.
The AI expansion won’t replace crypto operations at CleanSpark. “It’s a terrific part of our business,” Schultz said. The companies are working under a non-binding framework to finalize definitive agreements in the coming weeks for AI data center development in North America.
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