Galaxy closes $1.4 billion debt facility to retrofit its Helios bitcoin mining center for CoreWeave AI deal

Galaxy Digital (ticker GLXY) raised $1.4 billion via debt financing, not to create a crypto treasury, but to invest in its massive Helios datacenter in West Texas. 

The funding will go towards retrofitting and expanding one of the largest U.S. crypto mining facilities for AI and high-performance computing operations to deliver on Galaxy’s long-term deal with CoreWeave (ticker CRWV).

“This project is a key step in diversifying Galaxy's business model as we expand beyond crypto and into the broader AI infrastructure space,” Galaxy CEO Mike Novogratz said in a statement . 

The debt facility was arranged under 36-month terms and will be secured by “all the assets associated with the first phase of Helios's buildout.” It was offered at 80% loan-to-cost with Galaxy putting up an additional $350 million in equity to complete the buildout. According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing , Deutsche Bank is acting as the “initial lender.”

CoreWeave, a cloud computing company that raised $1.5 billion in a March IPO, is the sole AI/HPC tenant for Galaxy's Helios facility under a 15-year lease agreement. As part of the deal, crypto conglomerate Galaxy will deliver 800 MW of critical IT load to host CoreWeave’s AI and HPC operations.

The move is part of a trend of bitcoin miners expanding into high-performance computing following the push and pull of the Bitcoin halving last year and the increasing needs of AI companies. Notably, CoreWeave launched initially as a crypto miner but pivoted in 2019 to provide cloud-based GPU services, leveraging its inventory of NVIDIA chips. 

Galaxy estimates its agreement with CoreWeave will generate over $1 billion in average annual revenue over the 15-year span of the agreement, assuming full utilization. 

Although a detailed timeline was not given, Galaxy expects to continue with a second phase of Helios development, having signed an additional lease agreement with CoreWeave in August. If fully built out, the company said its Helios datacenter could support up to 3.5 GW of power. Galaxy purchased the Helios facility from Argo Blockchain for $100 million in 2022 (with $35 million loaned) to help the initial builder avoid bankruptcy. 

In May, Galaxy dual-listed on the Nasdaq after initially going public on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2020. The firm is reportedly looking to tokenize GLXY shares, which are currently trading hands for $36, a 7% decline on the day, according to The Block’s price page .