Key Takeaways
- • Galaxy Digital completed Phase I of its Helios data center campus in West Texas on July 6, 2026, delivering 133 megawatts of critical IT load to anchor tenant Coreweave, formalizing a $1 billion annual revenue pathway.
- • Coreweave committed to 526 megawatts across Helios Phases I–III under a 15-year lease, covering the full 800 megawatts of gross power currently approved at the site and generating projected annual revenues exceeding $1 billion once fully operational.
- • Galaxy acquired the Helios site from Argo Blockchain for approximately $65 million in late 2022 after the facility's original bitcoin mining operations became economically unviable; the company has now pivoted the asset into AI infrastructure, with Phase I alone projected to generate $300 million annually in lease payments.
- • The strategic shift reflects market fundamentals: bitcoin mining margins compressed following the April 2024 halving as power costs rose and AI companies began outbidding cryptocurrency miners for electricity supply, prompting Galaxy to redeploy its infrastructure and operational expertise.
- • Galaxy targets 3.6 gigawatts of total capacity at Helios, with Phase II data halls arriving in 2027, and CEO Mike Novogratz emphasized the company's execution capability on hyperscale AI construction projects delivered on budget and schedule.
Summary
Galaxy Digital completed Phase I of its Helios data center campus in Dickens County, Texas on July 6, 2026, marking a decisive pivot from cryptocurrency mining to artificial intelligence infrastructure. The facility delivered 133 megawatts of critical IT load to Coreweave, a leading AI infrastructure provider, under a 15-year master lease agreement. This milestone represents the materialization of a $1 billion revenue opportunity that CEO Mike Novogratz identified and executed as the economics of bitcoin mining deteriorated.
The asset's transformation illustrates a broader market dynamic. Galaxy acquired the Helios site from Argo Blockchain in late 2022 for roughly $65 million after the crypto winter rendered the original mining operations unprofitable. The facility had been constructed as a bitcoin mining center in 2021. Rather than abandon the infrastructure, Galaxy recognized that the underlying power delivery systems, real estate, and operational backbone could be repurposed for higher-margin AI workloads. This decision proved prescient: bitcoin mining margins tightened significantly following the April 2024 halving, while simultaneous demand from AI companies drove electricity pricing upward, creating a decisive economic advantage for AI data center operators over traditional miners.
Coreweave anchored the transformation in March 2025 with an initial commitment, subsequently exercising two additional lease options. The company's total obligation spans 526 megawatts across three phases, covering the full 800 megawatts of gross power currently approved at the site. Phase I, now operational, is projected to generate approximately $300 million annually in lease payments, or $4.5 billion over the 15-year lease term. Once all three phases reach full operational capacity, the combined 526-megawatt commitment is expected to generate average annual revenues exceeding $1 billion.
Galaxy's broader ambitions extend beyond Phase I. The company targets 3.6 gigawatts of total capacity at Helios, with Phase II data halls scheduled to arrive in 2027. The infrastructure redevelopment required stripping out immersion cooling tanks and ASIC mining hardware, then installing Tier III N+1 redundant power systems, high-density electrical infrastructure for GPU clusters, and more than 100 miles of fiber laterals connecting to long-haul telecommunications routes. Novogratz highlighted Galaxy's execution as a competitive differentiator, noting the company delivered Phase I on budget and on schedule.
The asset's transformation illustrates a broader market dynamic. Galaxy acquired the Helios site from Argo Blockchain in late 2022 for roughly $65 million after the crypto winter rendered the original mining operations unprofitable. The facility had been constructed as a bitcoin mining center in 2021. Rather than abandon the infrastructure, Galaxy recognized that the underlying power delivery systems, real estate, and operational backbone could be repurposed for higher-margin AI workloads. This decision proved prescient: bitcoin mining margins tightened significantly following the April 2024 halving, while simultaneous demand from AI companies drove electricity pricing upward, creating a decisive economic advantage for AI data center operators over traditional miners.
Coreweave anchored the transformation in March 2025 with an initial commitment, subsequently exercising two additional lease options. The company's total obligation spans 526 megawatts across three phases, covering the full 800 megawatts of gross power currently approved at the site. Phase I, now operational, is projected to generate approximately $300 million annually in lease payments, or $4.5 billion over the 15-year lease term. Once all three phases reach full operational capacity, the combined 526-megawatt commitment is expected to generate average annual revenues exceeding $1 billion.
Galaxy's broader ambitions extend beyond Phase I. The company targets 3.6 gigawatts of total capacity at Helios, with Phase II data halls scheduled to arrive in 2027. The infrastructure redevelopment required stripping out immersion cooling tanks and ASIC mining hardware, then installing Tier III N+1 redundant power systems, high-density electrical infrastructure for GPU clusters, and more than 100 miles of fiber laterals connecting to long-haul telecommunications routes. Novogratz highlighted Galaxy's execution as a competitive differentiator, noting the company delivered Phase I on budget and on schedule.
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