Google has officially become the largest shareholder of Bitcoin mining operator TeraWulf after acquiring a 14% stake through a recent financing arrangement.
On Monday, August 18, the technology company’s stake was acquired in exchange for extending its financial backstop for a 10-year colocation lease arrangement between TeraWulf and AI infrastructure partner Fluidstack.
During TeraWulf’s shareholder call on Thursday, it was stated that Google provided the backstop as a guarantee for Fluidstack to ensure compliance with its lease obligations and received warrants representing over 73M shares.
The new strategic position puts Google not only as TeraWulf’s largest investor but also as a significant strategic partner in TeraWulf’s transition and potential developments in AI-driven infrastructure.
Strategic Lease Deal with Fluidstack
Fluidstack took an option to increase its footprint at TeraWulf’s Lake Mariner data center campus in New York under the terms of the transaction, which will now include an additional facility to be purpose-built and operational in the second half of 2026.
Google’s $3.2 billion backstop ensures that Fluidstack’s lease obligations are secured for the next ten years meaning that if Fluidstack were unable to meet its financial obligations, Google would assume those obligations.
TeraWulf clarified that this backstop is not directly tied to its corporate debt or Bitcoin mining, but only tied to contracted revenues from AI and high-performance computing (HPC).
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Diversification Beyond Bitcoin Mining
The agreement reflects a larger trend across the mining industry, as Bitcoin miners are reallocating some of their infrastructure to accommodate AI and HPC workloads now that the halving in April 2024 cut their mining rewards to 3.125 BTC.
Kerri Langlais, Chief Strategy Officer of TeraWulf, noted that while the company will continue to mine Bitcoin at Lake Mariner for cash flow and its grid stability, it is intended to focus on allocating megawatts to AI and HPC eventually.
TeraWulf expects to receive more stable long-term revenues supported by blue-chip clients like Google and Fluidstack, which are less sensitive to the volatility of Bitcoin’s prices.
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Revenue Projections and Industry Outlook
TeraWulf anticipates an agreement with Fluidstack which will generate $6.7 billion in revenue over the expected life of the lease, and as much as $16 billion if the lease extension options are exercised.
This development is consistent with industry-wide projections from asset manager VanEck, which reported in August 2024 that public Bitcoin miners had the potential to expand profits.
If they can shift 20% of their capacity to AI and HPC by 2027, the profits may increase to nearly $13.9 billion over a period of 13 years.
Google’s participation in TeraWulf is a significant validation of this shift, representing the growing convergence of traditional technology giants with the emerging crypto-mining space.
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Stock Market Reaction to the Announcement
The market responded very positively to TeraWulf’s announcement. On Monday, the company’s stock (WULF) reached a high of $10.57, for a gain of 17% from the last closing price of $8.97, and ended the day at $9.38.
In the after hours, shares slipped by another 1.28%, however, they have risen by over 72% so far before this new partnership with Fluidstack was announced five days ago.
Investors are taking the 14% ownership stake by Google as a strong sign of confidence, and an indicator of long-term stability for TeraWulf, as it looks for long-term balance between Bitcoin mining and a growing AI based data infrastructure.
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