Riot Platforms accelerates AI infrastructure shift after third-quarter Bitcoin sales

Highlights

Riot Platforms sold 10,599 Bitcoin in Q3—6.5 times production—reducing holdings by 79% to 2,418 and raising $1.5 billion for AI data centers.
Riot's 15-year Corsicana lease with an AI laboratory covers 910 MW, projecting $28–54 billion in contracted revenue, with phased delivery from September 2027 to July 2028.
Q3 revenue rose to $181.4 million as data-center and engineering growth offset a 28% Bitcoin mining revenue drop, while the company ended with $748.2 million cash and repaid its $200 million credit facility.

Corsicana lease reshapes funding plan

As reported by TheEnergyMag, Riot sold 10,599 Bitcoin in the third quarter, about 6.5 times its production for the period, as it redirected capital toward data-center development and a large artificial intelligence infrastructure buildout.

Riot ends September with 2,418 Bitcoin, down nearly 79% from 11,380 at June 30, based on figures released with its Nov. 4 earnings report. The company says its Bitcoin sales in the first nine months generate about $1.5 billion, primarily to fund data-center development, highlighting how it is using digital-asset reserves to finance projects that are not due to start delivery until 2027.

The company also announces a 15-year lease with an unidentified AI laboratory covering all 910 megawatts of critical IT capacity at Corsicana. Riot expects about $28 billion in contracted revenue over the initial term, rising to roughly $54 billion if the tenant exercises both five-year extension options.

Under the agreement, Riot will provide land, power infrastructure and prepared sites, while the tenant will procure, own and operate the modular computing facilities and bear substantially all operating costs. Rent is payable on the full contracted capacity regardless of utilization.

Riot estimates development costs of about $5.5 billion, or $6 million per megawatt. It plans to fund $2 million per megawatt for site work and electrical infrastructure, while another $4 million per megawatt will be reimbursed to the tenant after each phase is delivered and begins paying rent.

The company expects to finance those reimbursements with project debt. If financing on comparable market terms is unavailable, the tenant will fund that portion directly and recover it through credits against future rent.

Delivery is scheduled in three phases, 400 megawatts in September 2027, 200 megawatts in January 2028 and 310 megawatts in July 2028. Riot says it does not currently anticipate issuing equity to fund its announced projects.

Revenue mix shifts toward data centers

Together with existing agreements at Rockdale, including its AMD lease, the Corsicana transaction lifts Riot's contracted data-center capacity to 1,151 megawatts. The company projects more than $2 billion in average annual net operating income at full deployment.

For the third quarter, total revenue edges up to $181.4 million from $180.2 million a year earlier, as growth in data-center and engineering operations offsets weaker Bitcoin mining revenue. Mining revenue falls about 28% to $116 million, with Riot's average Bitcoin price declining to $70,855 from $114,361 despite a 16% rise in production.

Its average cost to mine one Bitcoin, excluding depreciation, falls to $39,265 from $46,324, helped by $24.7 million in power-curtailment credits. Data-center revenue totals $18.4 million, including $7.7 million in base rent and $10.2 million in tenant fit-out reimbursements, while engineering revenue rises to $47 million from $19.1 million.

Riot ends September with $748.2 million in cash, including $79.2 million restricted, and Bitcoin valued at about $202 million. The company also repays and terminates its $200 million Coinbase credit facility, releasing all pledged Bitcoin.

Our earlier coverage on the U.S. AI data-center buildout highlighted how soaring funding costs, construction delays, and power-grid constraints are making some headline expansion plans look less credible. The article noted that only a minority of proposed projects appear realistic, and that cost overruns and shifting investor sentiment are forcing developers to rethink how they finance and deliver capacity on time.

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