MARA bets big on Texas AI hub as shares outperform crypto peers

MARA Holdings has expanded its AI and digital infrastructure footprint by acquiring a 1,200-acre powered land site in Texas, helping lift its shares more than 12% as the Bitcoin miner continues to outperform many publicly traded crypto companies.

According to a company press release, MARA has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Texas property from HIF. The site is expected to provide access to an initial 1 gigawatt of grid capacity by October 2027, with total available capacity projected to reach 2 gigawatts by April 2028.

The company said the location is designed to support large-scale digital infrastructure alongside its existing Bitcoin mining operations.

The announcement extends MARA’s investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure, an area that has attracted increasing attention from Bitcoin miners looking to diversify revenue sources. 

Yahoo Finance data showed MARA shares climbing to $13.77 following the announcement, leaving the stock up more than 14.6% on the day and over 53% year to date despite continued weakness across much of the crypto mining sector.

Texas site adds capacity for AI and Bitcoin mining

Beyond expanding its mining operations, MARA said it plans to develop the property with Starwood Digital Ventures into a large-scale digital infrastructure campus capable of supporting high-performance computing workloads, flexible compute services and Bitcoin mining. The company added that the site has already generated interest from potential high-performance computing tenants.

Once an HPC lease is executed, MARA said HIF will retain a minority ownership stake in the project. Construction is expected to begin in phases later this year, subject to regulatory approvals.

Earlier this year, MARA strengthened its digital infrastructure portfolio by acquiring Long Ridge Energy & Power in a $1.5 billion transaction, adding another large energy asset to support its computing strategy. The Texas purchase builds on that expansion as the company continues investing in facilities that can serve both blockchain and AI workloads.

Bitcoin miners continue expanding AI infrastructure

MARA joins a growing list of publicly traded Bitcoin miners investing in AI-focused infrastructure instead of relying solely on cryptocurrency mining. As crypto.news reported earlier, IREN Limited recently completed its acquisition of Spain-based Ingenostrum, also known as Nostrum Group, adding roughly 490 megawatts of secured grid-connected power and establishing its first operating base in Europe for AI cloud services.

Meanwhile, crypto.news previously reported that TeraWulf signed a 20-year data center lease with AI company Anthropic. According to TeraWulf, the agreement could generate nearly $19 billion in revenue over its lifetime, highlighting the growing commercial demand for high-performance computing capacity.

The trend extends beyond infrastructure operators into corporate Bitcoin treasury strategies. Earlier this week, crypto.news reported that American Bitcoin Corp. increased its Bitcoin holdings to more than 8,000 BTC.

BitcoinTreasuries data ranked the company among the largest publicly traded corporate Bitcoin holders in the United States, ahead of GD Culture Group and Galaxy Digital, illustrating how companies across the sector are pursuing different approaches to strengthen their positions as institutional interest in digital assets and AI computing continues to grow.