Hedge fund billionaire Dan Loeb has taken a $40.8 million stake in Hut 8, the Bitcoin mining company that's reinventing itself as an AI data center operator. The position, disclosed in a regulatory filing this week, puts a high-profile activist investor behind a pivot that could uncouple Hut 8's valuation from the volatile crypto market.
The Loeb bet
Third Point's purchase comes as Hut 8 shifts resources from mining Bitcoin to building out infrastructure for artificial intelligence workloads. The company has been converting some of its mining facilities to host GPUs for AI training and inference. For Loeb, known for pushing operational changes at his portfolio companies, the bet signals confidence in that strategy. The $40.8 million figure, while modest for a fund of Third Point's size, is a clear directional signal: Hut 8's future is in compute, not coins.
Why a miner would chase AI
Bitcoin miners have a natural advantage in the AI data center race: they already own large power contracts, cooling systems, and real estate. Hut 8's pivot to AI could align its valuation more with tech infrastructure peers than with the price of Bitcoin. That's a key selling point for investors tired of the crypto roller coaster. If successful, Hut 8 would trade less on Bitcoin's daily swings and more on the steady demand for AI compute—a shift that could shrink its discount to traditional data center stocks.
The company hasn't detailed how much of its capacity will shift to AI, but the Loeb investment adds pressure to deliver. Third Point will likely push for clearer financial targets and faster execution. Hut 8's next earnings report, expected in early August, will be the first test of whether the AI pivot is translating into revenue. For now, Loeb's $40.8 million is a vote of confidence — but the real work is just beginning.
