MARA to Invest Up to $600 Million in AI and Bitcoin Mining Facility

The largest American mining company, MARA Holdings, has acquired a site in Matagorda County, Texas. The total deal could reach $600 million as the project progresses through its various stages.

MARA has entered into a definitive agreement with HIF to acquire a strategic powered land site in Texas. The site spans more than 1,200 acres with access to up to an initial 1 GW of grid capacity by October 2027 and up to 2 GW by April 2028, subject to ERCOT approval.

We intend… pic.twitter.com/OZ0DvKlZoQ— MARA (@MARA) July 9, 2026

Deal Details

The site, covering over 1,200 acres (~486 hectares), is located about 145 km southwest of Houston. The deal was made with HIF USA LLC, the American subsidiary of eco-fuel developer HIF Global. It was finalized on July 2 through MARA's subsidiary, Volt Texas LLC.

The previously acquired site was intended for large-scale electro-methanol production.

MARA will make payments for the acquisition in stages, contingent on key project milestones, including regulatory approvals, land purchase (currently under contract), power supply permits, and signing a data center lease with a third-party tenant.

After the lease is signed, HIF will retain a minority stake in the project and participate in its further development. The firm described the deal as a partial monetization of infrastructure in Matagorda and noted that it has already issued permits to begin work on a distribution hub to connect the site to the grid.

MARA aims to access 1 GW of initial capacity by October 2027 and increase this to 2 GW by April 2028. Construction is planned for this year.

The company has reported interest in the site from potential tenants in the high-performance computing sector.

MARA's Strategy

This deal is the latest in a series of significant acquisitions by MARA. In April, the company agreed to purchase Long Ridge Energy & Power. This asset includes a 505 MW gas power plant in Ohio and over 1,600 acres for a digital infrastructure campus, valued at approximately $1.5 billion, including debt. The closure is expected in the second half of 2026.

In February, the miner announced a strategic partnership with Starwood Capital Group aimed at transforming MARA's sites into AI infrastructure. The platform is designed for approximately 1 GW of IT capacity, with potential growth to 2.5 GW.

Once the Matagorda facility is fully operational and the Long Ridge deal is closed, MARA's potential energy capacity will more than double to around 4.8 GW.

Bitdeer to Build Mining Plant for $36 Million

Mining company Bitdeer has begun construction on the first U.S. manufacturing facility for its own SEALMINER mining machines. According to The Energy Mag, the $36 million plant in Sparks, Nevada, is expected to be operational by the end of 2026.

The facility will cover approximately 17,400 square meters and have a production capacity of 10,000 SEALMINER devices per month. The project is expected to create around 70 jobs, company representatives noted.

The plant will complement Bitdeer's existing data centers in the U.S. and its hub in San Jose, California. Until now, the company's U.S. presence has been limited to Bitcoin mining and AI infrastructure.

Bitdeer Industrial Chairman Paul Hanson stated that the facility will strengthen supply chains and bring production closer to U.S. customers.

Diversification

The construction comes at a time when the industry is facing significant pressure on profitability. According to Hashrate Index, the hash price is currently $29.6 per PH/s per day, which is 6% lower than the historical peak of around $27.8 recorded in February.

Bitcoin hash price. Source: Hashrate Index.

In response, Bitdeer is pursuing a vertical integration strategy. The company is developing its own SEALMINER devices and deploying them in its mining fleet. In April, the firm launched mass production of the A4 series with an efficiency of 9.45 J/TH.

Bitdeer is also expanding into AI. In April, the miner reported $69 million in revenue from its AI Cloud division, which provides computing infrastructure for AI training. The company is also in talks to host third-party equipment at its Tydal site in Norway.

Cipher Digital to Sell Shares

Cipher Digital CEO Tyler Page filed Form 144 with the SEC for the proposed sale of 112,500 shares of the company, valued at approximately $2.38 million. The anticipated date of the transaction is listed as July 8.

This filing is linked to a Rule 10b5-1 plan adopted on December 19, 2025. In its annual report, Cipher disclosed that Page's plan allows for the potential sale of up to 1.5 million shares by December 24, 2026. The new notice covers 112,500 shares, which is 7.5% of the limit.

On March 25, 2026, Page sold 37,500 shares of Cipher at $16.11 per share for a total of approximately $604,125.

Cipher is restructuring its business from a Bitcoin miner to a developer of data centers for AI and high-performance computing (HPC). In February, the company changed its name from Cipher Mining to Cipher Digital and reported 600 MW of contracted HPC capacity across two lease agreements, including a 15-year deal for 300 MW with Amazon Web Services and a 10-year deal for 300 MW with Fluidstack and Google.

In the first quarter, the firm announced a third data center campus lease agreement with an investment-grade hyperscaler, a renewed $200 million credit line, $35 million in revenue, and an adjusted EBITDA of -$48 million amid the development of the Barber Lake and Black Pearl projects.

It is worth noting that in June, JPMorgan analysts reported a deterioration in mining economics as Bitcoin continues to trade below the cost of mining a single coin.