Bitcoin miner Riot's shares jump 8% after expanding AMD data center deal, signaling AI pivot

Markets Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Bitcoin miner Riot's shares jump 8% after expanding AMD data center deal, signaling AI pivot AMD’s expansion and improved financing terms highlight Riot’s shift beyond bitcoin mining and strengthen confidence in its growing data center business. By James Van Straten | Edited by Aoyon Ashraf May 1, 2026, 8:59 p.m. 2 min read Make preferred on What to know : AMD doubled its capacity at Riot’s Texas site to 50MW, with an option to expand to 150MW total, a deal expected to generate about $636 million over 10 years. Riot secured better credit terms, lowering its rate to 6.15% and reducing pledged BTC collateral, a sign of growing lender confidence in its non-mining business. Shares are up 8% on Friday. Riot Platforms (RIOT) shares jumped about 8% on Friday after Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) expanded its capacity at the company’s Rockdale, Texas campus, highlighting Riot’s continued pivot from bitcoin mining into AI and high-performance computing. According to the Q1 financial results , AMD exercised an option to double its contracted capacity to 50 megawatts (MW), with the potential to upsize to 150MW. According to the earnings transcript , Riot said the agreement could generate roughly $636 million over a 10-year term. Riot also secured improved terms on its $200 million bitcoin-backed credit facility with Coinbase, lowering the rate to a fixed 6.15% from 8.3% and releasing 1,544 of pledged collateral bitcoin, signaling growing lender confidence in its expanding data center business. Together with the AMD deal and improved credit terms, investors are paying a premium for the stock. “Market pricing in lower cost of capital as the expanded AMD deal drives lender confidence,” said Matthew Sigel , head of digital assets research at VanEck. Riot was one of the last few 'pure play' mining companies left that didn't get into hosting AI computing, while others opened up their data centers to move away from mining. Until recently, activist investor Starboard started to urge the management to accelerate its transition from bitcoin mining to an AI infrastructure provider. Riot shares performance in the last 12 months (TradingView) The move to expand its data center business to host AI computers appears to be paying off for the Castle Rock, Colorado-based company. The firm reported total revenue of $167.2 million for the quarter ended March 31, up from $161.4 million a year earlier, supported by $33.2 million in initial data center revenue. However, bitcoin mining revenue fell to $111.9 million from $142.9 million, mainly due to lower bitcoin prices and increased mining competition. The mining company's shares are up about 147% over the last 12 months, while bitcoin fell nearly 17%. The company, which previously held onto all its mined bitcoin, is also accelerating its bitcoin sales. According to Bitcoin Treasuries data , the company sold 3,688 BTC during Q1. The company ended March with 15,679 BTC and $282.5 million in cash. Read more: The bitcoin treasury boom is unwinding as some companies and governments sell holdings Bitcoin News Artificial Intelligence More For You Canadian pension giant AIMCo buys the dip in Strategy, now sitting on $69 million unrealized gain By James Van Straten | Edited by Stephen Alpher 3 hours ago AIMCo returns to Michael Saylor's bitcoin treasury company years after exiting, now sitting on a sizable unrealized gain. What to know : A 13F filing shows AIMCo purchased 1.38 million shares of Strategy for $172.5 million in the first quarter, with the stake now valued at roughly $241 million, implying an unrealized gain of about $69 million. AIMCo previously held MSTR between 2019 and 2020, exiting the position in September 2020, shortly... Read full story Latest Crypto News Ethereum Foundation finalizes sale of 10,000 ether to BitMine as part of its treasury strategy 2 hours ago Canadian pension giant AIMCo buys the dip in Strategy, now sitting on $69 million unrealized gain 3 hours ago A new narrative for bitcoin that will last 3 hours ago Tether posts $1.04 billion Q1 profit, reaches $8.23 billion reserve buffer 4 hours ago AI agent forms its own company, gets ready to trade crypto 5 hours ago Bitcoin takes another aim at $80,000 as stocks rise, oil drops on Iran optimism 5 hours ago Top Stories Institutional demand to drive bitcoin market cap to $16 trillion by 2030: Ark Invest 7 hours ago SBI Holdings eyes stake in crypto exchange Bitbank to build digital asset powerhouse 9 hours ago Strategy keeps STRC dividend at 11.5% as stock logs first monthly gain in nine 13 hours ago Bithumb scores a legal win in South Korea as six-month suspension is lifted by local judge 13 hours ago Bitcoin bounces as big tech earnings fuel optimism; short-term pressures remain 9 hours ago U.S. senators won't be weighing in on prediction markets bets after banning themselves 22 hours ago