MARA buys Texas site with 2 GW power capacity for $0

MARA Holdings is betting that access to cheap, scalable power will define the next phase of digital infrastructure — and it just added 2 gigawatts of it in one deal.

MARA Holdings Inc. agreed to acquire a 1,200-acre powered land site in Matagorda County, Texas, from HIF USA LLC, gaining access to as much as 2 GW of grid capacity by April 2028, the companies said Wednesday. The site, about 90 miles southwest of Houston, will support Bitcoin mining and high-performance computing workloads.

"This transaction advances our strategy of securing strategically located infrastructure assets capable of supporting high-performance compute and bitcoin workloads," said Fred Thiel, chairman and chief executive officer of MARA. "As demand for digital infrastructure continues to grow, we believe sites with access to reliable, scalable power will become increasingly valuable."

The site offers an initial 1 GW of grid capacity by October 2027, scaling to 2 GW by the following April. MARA plans to develop the campus through its partnership with Starwood Digital Ventures, targeting HPC tenants alongside flexible compute operations. HIF will retain a minority ownership interest once an HPC lease is executed. Upon full energization, the acquisition will more than double MARA's potential power capacity to roughly 4.8 GW across its portfolio, including the anticipated close of its previously announced Long Ridge Energy & Power deal.

The Power Math Behind the Deal

The transaction reflects a broader scramble for energy assets as AI and crypto mining compete for the same constrained resource. Texas has become the epicenter of this demand, with ERCOT sitting on roughly 410 GW of large-load interconnection requests against a current peak demand of 85 to 90 GW. Industry estimates suggest as little as 10 percent to 20 percent of that queue will actually get built, making sites with confirmed grid access increasingly scarce.

MARA has invested more than $1.2 billion in Texas to date. The company, which began as a pure-play Bitcoin miner, has repositioned itself as an energy and digital infrastructure developer, deploying technologies that reduce power consumption for HPC workloads. The Matagorda site's phased construction is expected to begin this year, contingent on regulatory approvals, and is projected to support thousands of construction and permanent jobs.

Renato Pereira, chief executive officer of HIF USA, said the deal allows HIF to unlock value from its infrastructure assets while maintaining participation in the site's future development. "The development of this digital infrastructure serves as a powerful economic anchor to strengthen Matagorda County and create local career opportunities," he said.

The transaction structure — with HIF retaining minority ownership tied to an HPC lease — mirrors a growing trend in digital infrastructure deals where landowners preserve upside in projects that can take years to fully energize. For MARA, the acquisition locks in power capacity at a time when new grid connections face extended timelines and rising costs across the U.S.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.