Marathon Digital buys 1,200 acres in Texas for data center campus

Marathon Digital is buying 1,200 acres in Texas to build a 1GW data center campus. The Bitcoin miner plans to scale that footprint to 2GW by 2028.

The acquisition adds to a string of Texas deals. In November 2025, Marathon signed a letter of intent with MPLX to develop integrated power generation and data center facilities in West Texas, starting at 400MW with room to grow to 1.5GW. MPLX, rated Moderate with an Alpha Score of 65, is the energy infrastructure partner. In February 2026, the company announced a joint venture with Starwood Capital Group targeting roughly 1GW of near-term IT capacity, with a long-term goal above 2.5GW. Marathon said the partnership will fund construction of multiple data centers.

Marathon also spent $87.3 million on a 200MW Bitcoin mining data center in Garden City in April 2024 and bought a 114MW wind farm in Hansford County in December 2024 for behind-the-meter mining operations. The Garden City facility is already operational, and the wind farm provides power at below-market rates. CEO Fred Thiel said in late May 2026 that Marathon has more than 1.1GW of energized power capacity across its operations. The company expects to surpass 2GW through upcoming expansions and a transaction involving Long Ridge.

Texas now hosts more Bitcoin mining capacity than any other U.S. state, according to the Texas Blockchain Council. Its deregulated energy market lets miners negotiate directly with power providers, often securing rates below the national average. Abundant wind and solar capacity helps address sustainability concerns around proof-of-work mining, a frequent criticism from regulators and environmental groups.

Marathon has positioned its infrastructure for dual use across crypto mining and artificial intelligence workloads. AI training and inference require massive computational power, and the hyperscale data centers Marathon is building can theoretically serve both markets. The company's push into AI-ready data centers mirrors a broader trend among Bitcoin miners repurposing their infrastructure for high-performance computing. Microsoft's AI datacenter went live earlier this year, highlighting the crossover. Marathon's CEO has said the company is in talks with potential AI clients, though no agreements have been announced. The convergence of crypto mining and AI has attracted institutional capital. Paradigm raised $1.2 billion for investments in both sectors earlier this year.

Energy is the biggest cost for Bitcoin miners, often accounting for 60-70% of operating expenses. Marathon's ownership of the Hansford County wind farm reduces that expense, giving it a cost advantage over competitors that rely on grid power. Bitcoin halvings cut block rewards every four years, squeezing margins for miners with higher power costs. The next halving is expected in 2028, around the same time Marathon targets its 2GW capacity.

The 2028 target is ambitious. Building 2GW of data center capacity in roughly two years requires securing transformers, switchgear, and other grid equipment that are in short supply globally. Marathon's ability to procure these components will determine the pace of construction.