Bitcoin miner TeraWulf to expand energy infrastructure used for AI hosting

Bitcoin miner TeraWulf paid down its remaining debt early, saying it will provide the company greater flexibility to capitalise on escalating demand for energy infrastructure that can be deployed for uses such as powering generative AI technology.

TeraWulf is among a number of Bitcoin miners that are converting part of their infrastructure to high-performance computing data centers, which can power artificial intelligence applications. The Easton, Maryland-based firm, which touted the backing of celebrity investors including Gwyneth Paltrow when it went public in 2021, repaid a $77.5 million term loan, according to a statement Tuesday.

The company plans to expand its operational infrastructure capacity from 210-megawatt to 295-megawatt this year, and has the ability to increase capacity by an additional 300-megawatt in the “near-term.” It previously announced that it was working on a high performance computer project at its Lake Mariner facility in New York. That project would power the graphics processing units that generative AI technology thrives on.

TeraWulf’s shares have more than doubled this year. The stock has surged since another Bitcoin miner, Core Scientific, signed $3.5 billion hosting contracts with AI upstart CoreWeave. TeraWulf shares fell 8.4% to around $5 on Tuesday.

The push into AI hosting has helped TeraWulf and Core Scientific outperform other miners, who have seen their stocks weighed down by concern over thinning profits. Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms, the two largest miners by computing power, have seen their shares fall this year.