HIVE Digital Technologies surged 10% after securing a $220 million GPU cloud infrastructure contract with Bell and Cohere in Canada, marking a decisive pivot from Bitcoin mining toward sovereign AI compute. The deal positions the firm as a key player in state-backed AI infrastructure, shifting investor focus from crypto exposure to high-performance computing revenue.
On the same day, HIVE announced the acquisition and upgrade of the Big Boden data center in Sweden, backed by a 32 MW commitment of renewable power. The facility is intended to bolster Europe's AI autonomy by reducing reliance on US tech giants, according to Crypto Briefing, though no purchase price or timeline for the Swedish project was disclosed.
The Canada contract underscores a broader industry trend: Bitcoin miners are repurposing their energy-intensive facilities for AI workloads. HIVE's shares rose sharply on the news, reflecting market optimism about diversified revenue streams beyond volatile cryptocurrency mining margins.
Regulatory tailwinds are also at play. Both Canada and Sweden are actively courting sovereign AI infrastructure, framing it as a matter of economic security. The Swedish government's renewable power allocation signals a policy push to host AI compute domestically, which could reduce dependence on foreign cloud providers.
While the pivot appears strategic, skeptics caution that transitioning mining-grade data centers to AI workloads requires significant CapEx and specialized cooling. HIVE must deliver on latency and reliability benchmarks to compete with established cloud providers, making execution risk a key near-term concern.