Why Cantor and Canaccord Raised Hut 8’s Price Target After Google-Backed AI Deal

Hut 8 Mining Corp.’s recent lease agreement with Google Cloud to provide AI infrastructure services marks a significant strategic pivot from its traditional bitcoin mining operations. Following this development, Cantor Fitzgerald and Canaccord Genuity raised their price targets for Hut 8, reflecting optimism about the company’s evolving revenue model and market positioning at the intersection of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence.

What happened

In late 2025, Hut 8 entered into a lease agreement with Google Cloud, under which Hut 8 will provide AI infrastructure services utilizing its existing data center assets. This deal, confirmed by Hut 8 and reported by CoinDesk, represents a shift from the company’s prior focus on bitcoin mining to a broader role as an AI compute infrastructure provider.

Following the announcement, Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target on Hut 8 shares from USD 52 to USD 72. The firm cited stronger-than-expected revenue prospects stemming from Hut 8’s AI infrastructure pivot, viewing the Google deal as a validation of the company’s strategic direction. Similarly, Canaccord Genuity also increased its price target, interpreting the partnership as a catalyst for Hut 8’s market re-rating.

Hut 8’s Q3 2025 financial filings corroborate this strategic shift, showing increased capital allocation towards AI-related infrastructure investments and a reduced focus on acquiring new bitcoin mining hardware. The company’s official investor presentation from December 2025 further details this evolution, highlighting a transition from generating revenue primarily through bitcoin sales to securing recurring income via infrastructure leasing and AI compute services.

Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald interpret this development as a move towards more stable and diversified revenue streams, contrasting with the inherent volatility of bitcoin mining. Canaccord frames the deal as a reflection of growing market recognition of Hut 8’s repositioning at the nexus of crypto and AI sectors. Industry commentary suggests the Google-backed lease could exemplify a broader trend where crypto mining firms leverage excess computing capacity for AI workloads, potentially reshaping asset utilization and valuation frameworks in both industries.

Why this matters

Hut 8’s pivot signals a notable convergence between cryptocurrency mining infrastructure and the burgeoning AI compute market. By repurposing data center assets for AI workloads, Hut 8 is redefining its revenue model from a transactional, commodity-driven bitcoin mining business to a recurring revenue model based on infrastructure leasing. This structural shift could reduce revenue volatility and enhance predictability, factors that underpin the recent price target upgrades by Cantor and Canaccord.

The Google deal also illustrates a potential new use case for crypto mining infrastructure, which traditionally has been tied closely to cryptocurrency market cycles and regulatory uncertainties. If Hut 8’s model proves scalable, it may encourage other mining companies to diversify into AI services, thereby influencing capital allocation strategies and valuation metrics across the sector.

Moreover, Hut 8’s repositioning at the intersection of crypto and AI reflects broader market dynamics where data center capacity and computing power are increasingly commoditized and repurposed across technology verticals. This could lead to new valuation frameworks that blend elements of cloud infrastructure providers with those of crypto miners, though such frameworks are not yet established.

What remains unclear

Despite the confirmed lease agreement, several critical details remain undisclosed. The exact financial terms and duration of the Google lease deal have not been publicly revealed, limiting the ability to forecast precise revenue and margin impacts from the partnership. Without this information, assessing the deal’s contribution to Hut 8’s financial performance is challenging.

Additionally, Hut 8’s filings do not specify the proportion of its data center capacity dedicated to AI infrastructure as opposed to ongoing bitcoin mining operations. This opacity complicates understanding the pace and scale of the company’s operational transition and its implications for revenue mix.

Long-term sustainability of AI infrastructure demand from Google or other potential clients is uncertain, especially given rapid technological changes in AI hardware and evolving cloud provider strategies. Industry reports, such as Gartner’s AI infrastructure outlook for 2025, highlight volatility and rapid innovation in this space, which could affect Hut 8’s competitive positioning.

Finally, how Hut 8’s valuation multiples will evolve relative to traditional cloud infrastructure companies versus crypto miners remains unsettled. There is no clear precedent for companies straddling these sectors, and market consensus on appropriate valuation metrics is still forming.

What to watch next

Disclosure of detailed financial terms and duration of the Google Cloud lease agreement, which would clarify revenue and margin expectations.
Updates from Hut 8 regarding the allocation of data center capacity between AI infrastructure services and bitcoin mining, to assess operational progress.
Quarterly financial reports following Q3 2025, to monitor shifts in revenue composition and capital expenditure patterns.
Market developments in AI infrastructure demand and technology, including potential new partnerships or competitive responses from established cloud providers.
Emerging analyst frameworks and market consensus on valuation multiples applicable to companies operating at the crypto-AI infrastructure intersection.

While the Google-backed AI infrastructure deal and subsequent price target raises by Cantor Fitzgerald and Canaccord underscore a meaningful strategic pivot for Hut 8, significant uncertainties remain. The absence of detailed financial disclosures and operational breakdowns limits a full assessment of the deal’s impact and Hut 8’s longer-term positioning. The evolving intersection of cryptocurrency mining and AI infrastructure markets presents both opportunities and challenges, with Hut 8’s experience likely to shape broader sector dynamics in the months ahead.

Source: https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/12/17/cantor-boosts-hut-8-price-target-to-usd72-citing-stronger-than-expected-ai-deal. This article is based on verified research material available at the time of writing. Where information is limited or unavailable, this is stated explicitly.