Bitcoin Miner Hut 8 Stock Soars Pre-Market On Rumored Data Center Tie-Up With Meta: Retail Cheers The Buzz

Shares of Bitcoin miner Hut 8  jumped as much as 17% in premarket trade on Thursday, building on its 4% gains in the previous session, amid rumours that it may be building a data center with Mark Zuckerberg-owed Meta Platforms. 

The lift in retail sentiment and surge in chatter propelled the stock to the top of Stocktwits' trending tickers.

The speculation stems from similarities between Hut 8’s reported $12 billion data center project in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, and Meta’s announced plans to build a $10 billion artificial intelligence (AI) data center in nearby Richland Parish – the largest one for the Facebook-parent till date. 

Industry watchers, as reported by CoinDesk, note parallels in the infrastructure and energy needs for Bitcoin mining and AI data centers, fueling rumors of a collaboration. 

However, neither Hut 8 nor Meta has commented on the reports.

Bitcoin mining companies are increasingly pivoting toward AI-driven applications to diversify revenue streams. Hut 8 is not alone in exploring AI opportunities.

Core Scientific, for instance, is looking to create new revenue streams through AI data centers by leveraging its existing infrastructure for Bitcoin mining. 

Similarly, Riot Platforms, another major Bitcoin miner, is expanding into data center hosting and engineering services.

Hut 8 Sentiment and Message Volume on Dec 11 as of 8:45 a.m. ET | Source: Stocktwits

Retail sentiment around Hut 8 surged even higher into the ‘extremely bullish’ territory from ‘bullish’ a day ago as chatter jumped to ‘extremely high’ levels with users comparing Hut 8’s progress to competitors like Mara Holdings and Cleanspark. 

Hut 8’s stock has more than doubled in value so far this year alongside Bitcoin’s run to over $103,000.  

The rumors of a Meta collaboration add to the narrative of potential growth beyond traditional Bitcoin mining.

If pre-market gains hold, the stock could be well on its way to hit over two-year highs. 

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Read also: Riot Platforms Stock Edges Lower On Completing $525M Fund Raise To Buy Bitcoin: Retail Waiting For Rally