TLDR
- Crusoe Energy is selling its Bitcoin mining operation to NYDIG to focus on artificial intelligence
- The deal includes 425 modular data centers across seven US states and Argentina
- 135 Crusoe employees will join NYDIG with no job eliminations
- Crusoe’s AI business now generates the majority of its revenue
- Crusoe will retain a major equity stake in the combined business
Crusoe Energy, a pioneer in converting waste gas from oil fields into electricity for computing, has announced the sale of its Bitcoin mining business to New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG). The company is shifting its focus to what it sees as a more promising frontier: artificial intelligence infrastructure.
The transaction, announced on March 25, includes Crusoe’s digital flare mitigation business and 270 megawatts of power generation technology. This technology is spread across more than 425 modular data centers throughout the United States and Argentina.
As part of the deal, approximately 135 Crusoe employees will transfer to NYDIG. No roles will be eliminated in the process. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Crusoe Energy will maintain a significant equity position in the combined entity. The company will become the second-largest shareholder after Stone Ridge, NYDIG’s parent company.
From Gas Flaring to Computing Power
Founded in 2018, Crusoe pioneered an innovative approach to Bitcoin mining. The company developed technology to capture waste gas produced during oil extraction that would normally be burned off in a process known as gas flaring.
Instead of allowing this energy to go to waste, Crusoe converts it into electricity. This power is then used for the high-performance computing required for both Bitcoin mining and AI data centers.
The operation has grown to become substantial in the Bitcoin ecosystem. According to some reports, Crusoe’s Bitcoin mining operation accounts for approximately 1% of the world’s Bitcoin mining activity.
The AI Opportunity
Cully Cavness, Crusoe’s co-founder, president, and chief operating officer, explained the strategic shift in an interview with CNBC. “The AI business — it’s become the majority of our revenue,” he stated.
The company has already begun its transition toward AI infrastructure. Crusoe recently expanded its AI data center in Abilene, Texas, to 1.2 gigawatts. This expansion coincided with the announcement of a joint venture with investment firm Engine No. 1.
OG modular miners pivot is complete.
Crusoe → AI infra
Giga → grid hardwareStranded energy still matters.
But who captures the upside is changing. pic.twitter.com/W7v5wvnCyG— matthew sigel, recovering CFA (@matthew_sigel) March 25, 2025
The partnership aims to develop large-scale data center campuses across the United States. These facilities will be dedicated to building out AI capabilities.
Crusoe’s pivot toward AI has been in the works for some time. “We’d actually been building this AI business since the start of the company,” co-founder Chase Lochmiller told CNBC. “But over time that business has grown to be a really meaningful piece of our focus, our capital allocation and our growth.”
In December, Crusoe raised $600 million in a Series D funding round. This investment valued the company at $2.8 billion and was earmarked for powering AI infrastructure development.
The company’s ambitions in the AI space are substantial. From Abilene, Texas, Crusoe plans to launch what it describes as a hyperscale data center campus. The facility will start with 206 megawatts of capacity and is expected to scale to 1.2 gigawatts by mid-2026.
Crusoe claims this development could set a speed record for greenfield data center construction. The project began in June of last year.
The company is also expanding its cloud platform to provide on-demand access to high-performance GPUs. Crusoe is already running AI workloads in Iceland, powered entirely by geothermal and hydropower energy sources.
NYDIG’s Bitcoin Focus
For NYDIG, the acquisition aligns with its mission to support Bitcoin’s proof-of-work security. The company is focused exclusively on Bitcoin power and financial services.
NYDIG founder and executive chairman Ross Stevens emphasized the importance of the acquisition. “It is critically important to keep the Bitcoin network secure, and at the lowest possible cost,” he stated.
Stevens also made bold claims about traditional currencies, stating that fiat currencies are “collapsing against Bitcoin around the world.”
NYDIG is also privately held and valued at approximately $7 billion. The company has collaborated with Crusoe for years on flare gas projects and equipment hosting.
The relationship between the companies has deep roots. Lochmiller first met NYDIG’s Josh Burandt, the company’s head of strategic investments, in person at the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami.
Lochmiller described the bitcoin mining industry as “filled with a lot of colorful characters, some more trustworthy and credible than others.” He noted that NYDIG “always stood out to me as someone that I really wanted to be in business with,” citing their “highest degree of ethics” and “highest quality standards.”
Regarding the sale to NYDIG, Lochmiller concluded, “Ultimately, we decided our businesses were better together than separate.”
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