Russia used Tu-22M3 Backfire-C bombers to launch a salvo of heavy Kh-22/Kh-32 cruise missiles toward the Kyiv region on January 24, marking the first recorded use of these weapons against targets near the Ukrainian capital. Ukrainian air defense forces reported that Russia fired 12 Kh-22 or Kh-32 missiles toward a target on the outskirts of […]Bitcoin Magazine
Riot Stock ($RIOT) Rockets 13% Following Major Data Center Lease with AMD
Riot Platforms (NASDAQ: RIOT) has completed the purchase of 200 acres at its Rockdale, Texas, site and signed a long-term data center lease with Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD), marking the first major hyperscale tenant at the location.
The fee simple acquisition replaces Riot’s prior ground lease at Rockdale and was funded entirely through the sale of approximately 1,080 bitcoin from the company’s balance sheet, totaling $96 million.
The mining company said the purchase secures long-term operational control of the site and opens it for large-scale data center development.
The property includes a 700 MW grid interconnection, dedicated water supply, and fiber connectivity.
Shares of Riot’s stock jumped roughly 13% following the announcement and are currently trading at $18.70 a share.
Under the new lease, the company will deliver 25 megawatts (MW) of critical IT load to AMD in two phases, starting in January 2026 and completing by May 2026.
The initial term runs 10 years and carries an expected contract value of $311 million, with three five-year extensions potentially bringing total revenue to $1 billion.
AMD also holds an option to expand by 75 MW and a right of first refusal for an additional 100 MW, which would bring its total footprint at Rockdale to 200 MW. Riot estimates retrofit capital expenditures for the initial deployment at $89.8 million, or $3.6 million per MW, and expects the lease to contribute roughly $25 million in net operating income per year.
Riot now owns more than 1,100 acres and 1.7 gigawatts of fully approved power capacity across its two Texas sites, Rockdale and Corsicana, roughly 100 miles apart.
The company positions its portfolio within the “Texas Triangle,” covering Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, a major U.S. data center hub.
Chief Executive Jason Les said the AMD agreement validates Riot’s infrastructure and development capabilities, and marks a turning point in its strategy to repurpose bitcoin mining assets for high-performance computing and AI workloads. The company said began evaluating its sites for AI and HPC applications less than a year ago.
The company joins other publicly traded bitcoin miners shifting toward data center leasing amid rising mining costs and network difficulty.
The company said it plans to continue converting power at Rockdale and Corsicana for non-mining tenants, pursuing further development and leasing opportunities.
This post Riot Stock ($RIOT) Rockets 13% Following Major Data Center Lease with AMD first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.
The United States State Department has approved a possible $800 million Foreign Military Sale to Kuwait covering sustainment and follow-on technical support for the country’s Patriot air-and-missile defense program, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said on January 14. The agency confirmed that it has delivered the required certification notifying Congress of the proposed transaction. According […]The United States has reached a framework agreement with Lockheed Martin to sharply expand annual production of PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement interceptors, increasing output from about 600 missiles per year to roughly 2,000 over the next seven years, the company said. In a statement released on social media, Lockheed Martin said the agreement with the […]Bitcoin Magazine
Riot Platforms Opens $500M Stock Offering as Bitcoin Production Falls
Riot Platforms opened a new $500 million at-the-market equity offering this week as the bitcoin miner reported lower November production and continued to sell a large portion of its monthly output to fund operations and expansion.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday, Riot said it entered into a definitive sales agreement allowing it to issue and sell up to $500 million of common stock at prevailing market prices through the Nasdaq Capital Market.
The facility replaces a prior at-the-market program established in August 2024, which Riot terminated effective Tuesday.
Under the new agreement, Riot retains discretion over the timing and volume of any share sales. The company said proceeds will be used to fund capital expenditures, potential strategic acquisitions, investments in existing and future data centers and bitcoin mining projects, as well as general corporate purposes.
The company also noted that stock buybacks could be funded with the proceeds, alongside working capital needs.
Riot sold roughly $600.5 million worth of stock under the 2024 agreement before terminating it, leaving about $149.5 million of unused capacity. The new program resets the company’s fundraising flexibility as it continues to scale infrastructure in Texas. Shares were down nearly 1% in trading Wednesday.
The capital raise comes alongside a mixed monthly operating update. The company said it produced 428 bitcoins in November, a 14% decline from the same month a year earlier.
The company attributed the year-on-year drop to higher network difficulty and planned curtailments tied to power strategy. Total bitcoin holdings stood at 19,368 at the end of November, up 70% from a year earlier, but only four bitcoins higher than in October.
Riot sold 383 bitcoins during the month, generating $37 million in net proceeds. That compares with October, when the company sold 400 bitcoins for $46 million. The average realized sale price fell sharply to $96,560 in November from $114,970 a month earlier, reflecting the pullback in bitcoin prices during late autumn trading.
At the time of writing, bitcoin was trading around $88,000, up just over 1% on the day, with retail sentiment also leaning bearish.
Riot stock remains up 24% year-to-date and 21% over the past 12 months, despite recent volatility.
Institutional analysts continue to see longer-term upside tied to Riot’s infrastructure footprint. J.P. Morgan recently forecast 45% upside for the shares through 2026, citing expectations that the company could secure a 600-megawatt colocation deal at its Corsicana site by the end of next year.
The company currently owns roughly 1.7 gigawatts of power capacity across two large-scale Texas facilities, which analysts describe as rare tier-one assets in the bitcoin mining sector.
This post Riot Platforms Opens $500M Stock Offering as Bitcoin Production Falls first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.
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