Bitcoin miner Hut 8 (TSX: HUT) has long been a favourite alternative for short-term investors who seek exposure to Bitcoin prices. However, something has changed. The stock jumped 645% over 12 months ending June 20, 2026, and sustained the high price instead of falling back to its starting point in the crypto cycle. Although it witnessed a 36% correction in July and August, the stock bounced back 38% in September. And this time, the key factor driving the rally is not Bitcoin prices.
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What is driving Hut 8’s stock price?
Hut 8 is diversifying away from Bitcoin mining to a power-first artificial intelligence (AI) data centre and energy infrastructure platform. Hut8 has three business segments: Compute (Bitcoin mining, AI, and traditional cloud), Power (energy development, construction, and operations), and Digital Infrastructure (co-location, leasing, and hosting). AI data centre revenue will be reported in the Digital Infrastructure segment. This segment represented just 4%, or US$9.6 million, of 2025 revenue of US$235.1 million.
In the second quarter, the company stated that it secured US$7.5 billion in project financing for Beacon Point Phase 1 and Google-backed River Bend. These, along with Beacon Point Phase 2, make a gigawatt-scale AI data centre campus.
Hut 8 has already secured a 15-year lease for the gigawatt capacity, which will bring in a total lease revenue of US$26.6 billion at the base level. When converted to annual net operating income, it comes to over US$1.75 billion and will be reflected once the data centre operations commence in 2027.
The anticipation of stable leasing revenue from AI data centers is driving the stock up. The July and August correction in Hut 8’s stock price matches the slowdown in AI growth momentum. Hence, it comes as no surprise that Hut8 has moved from being only a Bitcoin miner to AI infrastructure services.
Is this Bitcoin miner still a buy?
A stock that used to hover in the $13-$30 range suddenly jumps to the $144 price range. This raises a question: is this stock still a buy at the current price point? Note that the company’s business operations are undergoing a 360-degree change. Unlike Bitcoin mining, AI infrastructure is a steady business, and hyperscalers are grabbing all the AI capacity they can get their hands on. Moreover, Hut 8’s strength is the control of scarce, pre-permitted power infrastructure in Texas that hyperscalers seek.
This is a stock to buy the dip. Valuations may not justify the exponential growth that will come from AI infrastructure in the next two to three years, as price-to-earnings (P/E) looks at past year earnings per share (EPS) and the forward P/E ratio at the next 12 months’ EPS.
Both past and upcoming EPS will likely be negative as Hut 8’s accelerated capital spending and debt increase its interest expense and depreciation. Moreover, unrealized losses on digital assets (Bitcoin) pull down the bottom line to a net loss of US$177.1 million in the second quarter and US$248.0 million in 2025.
If you are worried about the piling debt on its balance sheet, it is linked to each data centre and will be paid from the projects’ cash flows. This debt has no recourse to Hut 8. Buy and hold the stock for the next five years as Hut 8’s projects commission. The stock has the potential to make it to the TSX 30 list of top-performing stocks and grow your money significantly.
