TL;DR
- Cipher Mining signed a ten-year agreement that grants Fluidstack full use of the Barber Lake campus and secures $830 million in revenue.
- The company will finance the expansion through debt, $118 million in equity contributions, and a $333 million note issuance.
- Cipher shares jumped 10% after the agreement was announced.
Cipher Mining is strengthening its shift toward high-performance computing with a new ten-year agreement that gives Fluidstack full access to the Barber Lake campus in Texas.
The company committed 39 megawatts of critical IT load, supported by an additional 56 megawatts of gross capacity, bringing the total leased at the site to 300 megawatts. This contract secures approximately $830 million in revenue during the initial term and could reach $2.0 billion if two five-year extensions are exercised, and roughly $9.0 billion when factoring in all existing agreements signed between the two companies.
All Cipher Agreements Add Up to About $9.0 Billion
Cipher Mining is moving away from pure Bitcoin mining toward infrastructure for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing services. The company argues that it has a unique market position thanks to its access to energy and large-scale data center capabilities, which allow it to attract cloud providers seeking immediate power availability to train and run advanced models.
Project financing will come from construction-linked debt and approximately $118 million in equity contributions. The company also proposed issuing 7.125% secured notes totaling $333 million, which would increase the total debt of the series to $1.73 billion if completed. In addition, Google expanded its financial backing of Fluidstack’s lease obligations with a new $333 million guarantee, strengthening the capital structure and reducing operational risks associated with the Texas infrastructure buildout.
The Numbers Behind the Barber Lake Complex
Cipher Mining expects Barber Lake to generate a net operating margin of between 85% and 90%. Construction costs will range from $9 million to $10 million per megawatt of critical load capacity. The company believes these levels support solid profitability in a segment where demand continues to grow due to intensive AI training needs.
The market reacted immediately after the announcement. Cipher’s shares rose 10% in recent hours and now show a gain of more than 200% for the year, boosted by strong results from major hardware and AI service providers.
