Why TeraWulf and Anthropic are driving the shift from cryptocurrency mining to AI data centers
Cryptocurrency mining companies are rapidly changing their business models to become artificial intelligence data center companies, as artificial intelligence is creating a huge demand for powerful computing infrastructure.
One of the biggest examples is Anthropic selectionAccording to an official TeraWulf press release, the company has signed a 20-year lease with TeraWulf to use its new artificial intelligence data center in Hawesville, Kentucky. The lease is expected to generate approximately $19 billion in revenue for TeraWulf over the initial 20 years, making it one of the company’s largest long-term transactions.
Detailed explanation of AI data center project
The data center, located about an hour southwest of Louisville, Kentucky, is under construction at TeraWulf’s Justified Data Campus. The park will provide approximately 401 megawatts (MW) of computing power for artificial intelligence workloads, enough to support very large artificial intelligence systems. The project will be built in phases rather than all at once.
The first phase is expected to start supplying electricity in the second half of 2027. The entire park is expected to reach its full installed capacity of 401 MW by early 2028. Investors welcomed the announcement, with TeraWulf shares rising more than 16% in pre-market trading after the deal was announced, CNBC reported.
TeraWulf CEO Paul Prager said the Anthropic agreement is proof that the company’s strategy is working and creates a long-term, stable revenue stream with one of the world’s leading companies. artificial intelligence company. The company also said the lease is expected to be backed by investment-grade credit, giving TeraWulf greater confidence in the reliability of payments.
TeraWulf’s AI expansion plans
In addition to the Anthropic deal, TeraWulf also announced the sale of its 50.1% stake in Texas-based Abernathy Joint Venture to an investor group led by Fluidstack. The Abernathy project was created in 2025 to build a 168 MW artificial intelligence data center campus in Abernathy, Texas. After the sale is completed, Fluidstack will continue to lead the Texas project.
TeraWulf said the sale allows it to realize an investment worth about $450 million, which is worth more than the original investment. The company plans to use the proceeds from the Texas sale to invest in new artificial intelligence infrastructure projects, of which it has full ownership and operational control.
According to CNBC, CEO Paul Prager said that when TeraWulf purchased the Kentucky plant in February 2026, the company expected to acquire a major customer by the end of the second quarter of 2026, and the Anthropic agreement achieved that goal.
Why TeraWulf gave up crypto mining
TeraWulf now describes itself as a company that develops, owns and operates digital infrastructure for artificial intelligence, high-performance computing (HPC) and other advanced computing workloads, rather than focusing solely on cryptocurrency mining. The company’s strategy reflects a broader shift taking place across the cryptocurrency mining industry, where companies are turning to artificial intelligence infrastructure because AI data centers can provide larger and more stable long-term revenue than cryptocurrency mining.
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TeraWulf’s shares have risen more than 80% this year, a sign of investors’ positive reaction to its move Artificial Intelligence InfrastructureThat’s despite the stock having fallen in the week leading up to Anthropic’s announcement, CNBC reported.
Artificial Intelligence demand is driving change
The company has also been raising significant funding to expand its artificial intelligence business. The company recently completed a $3.2 billion high-yield bond offering to fund the expansion of its data center in Mariner Lake, New York. According to the company, investor demand for the bond issuance has been extremely strong, with orders exceeding $11 billion.
TeraWulf is also working with Morgan Stanley and other banks to explore additional loans that could support future AI infrastructure expansion, Investing.com reported. The company recently acquired another large AI development site in eastern Kentucky called the Muskie Data Campus, which is expected to support more than 1 gigawatt (GW) of future data center capacity.
Several Wall Street analysts support TeraWulf’s artificial intelligence strategy. BofA Securities initiated coverage with a buy rating, Bernstein and Societe Generale gave it an outperform rating, and Citizens reiterated its market outperform rating, citing strong artificial intelligence demand and progress on the company’s data center projects.
The Anthropic protocol is one of the clearest signs that cryptocurrency mining companies are transforming into AI infrastructure providers as AI computing demand continues to grow rapidly and technology companies seek massive data center capacity.
