MARA Holdings (MARA) shares closed nearly 10% higher on 9 Jul after the Bitcoin miner agreed to acquire a site in Texas with planned access to as much as two gigawatts of power, expanding its push into the data centres and high-performance computing (HPC) that power AI.
The shares ended at $13.22, up 9.9%, after rising as much as about 20% during the session. The stock move followed MARA's announcement that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire the site from sustainable fuels company HIF USA, expected to have access to an initial one gigawatt of grid capacity by October 2027 and as much as two gigawatts by April 2028.
The site would host a digital infrastructure campus capable of supporting HPC workloads and flexible computing operations, including Bitcoin (BTC) mining.
The transaction adds to a broader shift among Bitcoin miners towards AI and data-centre infrastructure as companies seek additional uses for large power portfolios built for crypto mining. A Sandmark review found that miners including TeraWulf, Hut 8, Core Scientific, IREN and Cipher Mining have announced more than $100bn of long-term AI and HPC agreements since June 2024, although much of that value is spread across contracts lasting five to 25 years and depends on infrastructure still being built.
MARA has pursued that strategy through acquisitions and a partnership with Starwood Digital Ventures, while retaining mining as part of its business.
Power pipeline grows
The company said full energization would more than double its potential power capacity to about 4.8 GW across its portfolio, a figure that includes its pending acquisition of Long Ridge Energy & Power.
The company agreed in April to buy Long Ridge for about $1.5bn, gaining a natural-gas-fired power plant and land intended for further data-centre development. That transaction is also subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close later this year.
Mining still dominates
The expansion comes as MARA remains heavily dependent on Bitcoin mining for revenue despite its growing AI and data-centre pipeline. Mining-related activities generated about $172.6mn, or 99% of the company's $174.6mn in first-quarter revenue.
The diversification could give MARA additional ways to monetize power assets beyond Bitcoin mining, where revenue remains depressed due to falling cryptocurrency prices, network competition and mining economics.
Bitcoin traded at $63,260 at 21:15UTC on 9 Jul, down 27.7% year to date, while MARA shares had gained 33.4% in 2026 as investors responded to the company's push into AI.
