Hut 8 has emerged as the winning bidder for two West Texas data-center sites formerly operated by bankrupt Bitcoin mining pool Poolin, offering $140 million in cash and other consideration for the Pyote and Tarbush facilities. The auction result is a major new infrastructure development following Hut 8’s broader Texas expansion, but the transaction is not yet closed because it remains subject to bankruptcy-court approval.

According to reporting based on a September 23 court filing, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey is scheduled to consider the proposed sale at a September 29 hearing. Hut 8’s winning offer was nearly three times the combined $52 million stalking-horse bids that established the auction floor. The Block reported that Thor CALAP had offered $15 million for Pyote and $37 million for Tarbush.

Power Infrastructure Drove a Competitive Auction

The backup bids show how valuable powered data-center sites have become. DigiPower X offered $36.5 million for Pyote, while Pecos Industrial Development, acting as a designee of AI infrastructure company Fluidstack, offered $100.5 million for Tarbush. Together those backup offers reached $137 million, only $3 million below Hut 8’s winning proposal.

The competition matters to Bitcoin mining because the physical assets around compute increasingly carry strategic value independent of the machines installed inside them. Utility interconnections, substations, switchgear, transformers, transmission access, land and cooling infrastructure can survive multiple generations of ASIC hardware and can sometimes be adapted for other high-density computing workloads.

Poolin’s Mining Sites Enter a New Chapter

Poolin and two U.S. affiliates filed for Chapter 11 protection in July after mining and hosting operations at the Texas properties were wound down. Court filings cited approximately $173.1 million in obligations, including roughly $163.7 million in unsecured IOUs associated with Poolin Wallet users after withdrawals were frozen in 2022.

The sale process therefore represents more than a conventional property transaction. Infrastructure originally assembled for cryptocurrency mining is being repriced in a market where Bitcoin miners, AI developers and data-center operators increasingly compete for scarce electrical capacity.

Hut 8 Expands an 8.7 GW Development Pipeline

Hut 8 reported an approximately 8.7 GW development pipeline in its second-quarter update. The company has also disclosed 949 MW of contracted AI infrastructure capacity and approximately $26.6 billion of expected base-term contract value across its River Bend and Beacon Point campuses.

The proposed Poolin acquisition fits Hut 8’s power-first strategy. Instead of viewing a site only through the hashrate it can produce today, the company has increasingly emphasized control of power capacity and the electrical infrastructure needed to support future compute.

That strategy is especially significant in Texas, where grid access has become a constraint for large loads. Existing sites with developed electrical infrastructure may command a premium because new projects can face long interconnection studies, transmission-upgrade requirements, permitting scrutiny and equipment lead times.

What the $140 Million Bid Says About Bitcoin Mining Infrastructure

The auction offers a concrete example of how the value of a mining campus can diverge from the economics of the mining operator that built it. Poolin entered bankruptcy and shut down the Texas operations, yet competition for the underlying sites drove the winning bid far above the initial $52 million auction floor.

For mining operators, the engineering lesson is straightforward. ASIC efficiency and Bitcoin hashprice remain critical, but site value also depends on durable infrastructure: megawatts under control, substation capability, utility interconnection, network connectivity, cooling options, land and the ability to support future loads.

The September 29 court hearing is the next key milestone. Until approval is granted and the transaction closes, Hut 8 should be described as the winning bidder rather than the completed owner of the Pyote and Tarbush assets.

Sources

• The Block: Hut 8 wins Poolin Texas data-center auction
• Bloomberg Law: Poolin selects Hut 8’s $140 million bid
• Hut 8 corporate information

BitcoinVersus.Tech Editor’s Note:
We volunteer daily to ensure the credibility of the information on this platform is Verifiably True. If you would like to support to help further secure the integrity of our research initiatives, please donate here: 3C9o19EH5HSiwEPyCTmEKzxhNCbo2X6TTb

Follow BitcoinVersus.Tech on X.

Financial Disclaimer: BitcoinVersus.Tech provides information for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing published here constitutes financial, investment, legal or tax advice. Readers should conduct independent research and consult qualified professionals before making financial decisions.