A $27M-Per-Megawatt Data Center Deal Just Gave Bitcoin Miners A Price Tag — And VanEck Says CIFR, HUT Are Way Too Cheap

Matthew Sigel’s analysis used Digital Realty's $3.5 billion Northern Virginia data center transaction as a benchmark.

• VanEck's Matthew Sigel said Bitcoin miners pivoting to AI infrastructure are trading at a steep discount to AI data center assets.
• Sigel highlighted Cipher Mining and Hut 8, arguing that investors are undervaluing their energy-generating capacity.
• The comments build on VanEck's recent framework that evaluates Bitcoin miners as AI infrastructure companies.

Bitcoin (BTC) miners just got a fresh yardstick for their AI ambitions, and one analyst said it shows how cheaply the market is pricing them.

Digital Realty Trust (DLR) has agreed to purchase three fully leased AI data centers in Northern Virginia from Blackstone (BX) for $3.5 billion, a deal that VanEck’s Matthew Sigel assessed at around $27 million per megawatt. 6.5% cap rate, 3.6% annual rent escalators and 15-year lease terms make this deal the new benchmark for stabilized AI infrastructure, said Sigel on X.

Using that transaction as a reference, he said miners that have signed AI-related leases are being valued far below comparable infrastructure despite possessing energized power capacity and development pipelines. 

DLR stock was down over 5% in morning trade. On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment around DLR remained in the ‘bearish’ zone, while chatter around it stayed at ‘normal’ levels over the past day.

The Math Makes CIFR And HUT Look Deeply Undervalued

Sigel’s calculations showed a big gap. Those who can execute are creating $15 million to $24 million per megawatt of value, Sigel said. Miners are reusing Bitcoin infrastructure at $3 million to $12 million per megawatt on net operating income economics of approximately $1.5 million per megawatt, Sigel added. Sigel stated they are reusing Bitcoin infrastructure for $3 million to $12 million per megawatt. 

Specifically, Sigel pointed to two Bitcoin miners, Cipher Mining (CIFR) and Hut 8 (HUT), which have branched out into AI and high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure.

Applying DLR's cap rate to disclosed net operating income and subtracting net debt, Sigel said the market is assigning Cipher Digital (CIFR) more than $2.9 million per megawatt for its roughly 313 megawatts of energized-but-unleased capacity, and Hut 8 (HUT) more than $2.1 million per megawatt for its roughly 443 megawatts. That works out to 8 to 14 cents on DLR's dollar for capacity that needs only a lease, not a permit, he said, while the companies' development pipelines are valued at zero.

"There is no optimism in these valuations," Sigel wrote, claiming the market is pricing the long-dated pipeline as if demand for AI infrastructure stops, leasing rates plummet and the opportunity never materializes. Every signed lease, every megawatt, every quarter of steady GPU pricing, he noted, makes the gap closer.

CIFR stock traded around $24.40, down nearly 4% on the day. HUT’s stock traded at $115, down over 2% in the morning trade. Retail sentiment around both stocks remained in the 'bearish' zone on Stocktwits.

Builds On Earlier VanEck Framework

The comments build on a valuation framework published by VanEck earlier this month, in which Sigel and investment analyst Griffin MacMaster argued that Bitcoin miners should increasingly be evaluated as AI infrastructure companies rather than solely as cryptocurrency miners.

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