Riot Platforms’ third-quarter report makes a strategic shift unmistakably clear: it sold 10599 $BTC in the third quarter, reducing its holdings from 11380 at the end of June to 2418 at the end of September. It has sold 20264 $BTC year to date, bringing in about $1.5 billion.
The report also shows where the money went. The mining company leased 910 megawatts of IT capacity at its Corsicana campus in Texas to a frontier AI lab under a 15-year triple-net lease. The contract is worth about $28 billion in total, with annual rent of about $1.8 billion. Including two other leases signed this year, the company has contracted 1151 megawatts of capacity, representing about $38 billion in long-term contract revenue. After the news broke, its stock rose more than 13%.
There’s one detail that’s easy to overlook. The $28 billion is the total value of a 15-year contract, and the average annual rent of $1.8 billion won’t start coming in until the project is delivered. The project has $5.5 billion in total capital expenditures, to be covered by debt financing backed by rental income; that financing has not yet been finalized. Initial delivery is scheduled for September 2027, and rent will begin only 60 days after delivery. Until the first rent payment comes in, the gap is being bridged with cash from selling coins.
The same report includes another set of figures: third-quarter revenue was $181.4 million, up 1% year over year; mining revenue was $116 million, down 28%; and net income was $4.03 million, compared with $104.5 million in the same period last year.
Miners’ balance sheets are shifting from coins to power and land, and revenue recognition is slowing along with the transition. For companies in this space, the next test will be financing costs and delivery timelines.
The report also shows where the money went. The mining company leased 910 megawatts of IT capacity at its Corsicana campus in Texas to a frontier AI lab under a 15-year triple-net lease. The contract is worth about $28 billion in total, with annual rent of about $1.8 billion. Including two other leases signed this year, the company has contracted 1151 megawatts of capacity, representing about $38 billion in long-term contract revenue. After the news broke, its stock rose more than 13%.
There’s one detail that’s easy to overlook. The $28 billion is the total value of a 15-year contract, and the average annual rent of $1.8 billion won’t start coming in until the project is delivered. The project has $5.5 billion in total capital expenditures, to be covered by debt financing backed by rental income; that financing has not yet been finalized. Initial delivery is scheduled for September 2027, and rent will begin only 60 days after delivery. Until the first rent payment comes in, the gap is being bridged with cash from selling coins.
The same report includes another set of figures: third-quarter revenue was $181.4 million, up 1% year over year; mining revenue was $116 million, down 28%; and net income was $4.03 million, compared with $104.5 million in the same period last year.
Miners’ balance sheets are shifting from coins to power and land, and revenue recognition is slowing along with the transition. For companies in this space, the next test will be financing costs and delivery timelines.
