If the bid is successful, Hut 8 could also venture into HPC for AI, selling energy, and mining bitcoin.

Hut 8 (NASDAQ: HUT), a publicly traded digital infrastructure and High-Performance Computing (HPC) company, has received court approval to make a “stalking horse” bid for a set of natural gas power plants and a Bitcoin mining site situated in North Bay, Ontario. This move is part of Hut 8’s strategy to expand its operations, including selling power to the market and engaging in artificial intelligence endeavors.

The acquisition, if successful, could potentially resolve an ongoing legal dispute between Hut 8 and Validus Power Corp, their power provider. Validus had been taken to court in January for failing to fulfill a power purchase agreement (PPA) to provide 100MW of power to Hut 8’s facilities, resulting in a conflict that led to a suspension of power delivery after delivering only 20MW of the contracted amount.

If this acquisition is completed, it would significantly boost Hut 8’s capacity for self-sufficient Bitcoin mining operations. It includes the acquisition of a 40 MW facility in Kapuskasing, a 110 MW facility in Kingston, a 120 MW facility in Iroquois Falls, and a 40 MW facility along with a Bitcoin mine in North Bay. This would allow Hut 8 to reduce its dependency on external power suppliers for its operations.

According to Hut 8’s CEO, Jaime Leverton, this acquisition would help Hut 8 become a vertically integrated mining operation, utilizing existing infrastructure and machinery, and ensuring stable energy pricing.

Moreover, it would offer the company a broader range of business opportunities, including selling energy to the market, Bitcoin mining, and enabling high-demand HPC applications like artificial intelligence. This diversification aligns with the company’s strategic goals in anticipation of the upcoming Bitcoin halving.

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