Latest developments: CEO Paul Prager said the 20-year lease reflects surging demand for AI computing and validates TeraWulf's strategy of owning power, land and operations.

  • Prager said the Kentucky project won Anthropic through a competitive bidding process centered on access to grid power and long-term infrastructure.
  • The contract is valued at roughly $19 billion over its life, exceeding TeraWulf's current market capitalization, according to the interview.
  • Prager said TeraWulf already works with Anthropic and Google at its Lake Mariner campus in New York, giving the companies an established relationship.
  • Prager was interviewed by Jennifer Sanasie on CoinDesk's Public Keys at the New York Stock Exchange.

What this means: TeraWulf is shedding non-core assets to focus capital on AI data centers it fully controls.

  • Prager said the company's sale of its interest in the Abernathy project reflects a disciplined capital allocation strategy rather than a change in AI ambitions.
  • He said TeraWulf earned a strong return on the sale and plans to reinvest the proceeds into wholly owned AI infrastructure projects, including additional sites in eastern Kentucky.
  • Prager said owning the site, power supply and operations gives TeraWulf greater control over customer relationships and long-term returns.

The context: Building AI data centers remains a multi-year effort with labor emerging as a key execution challenge.

  • Prager said the Kentucky facility is expected to come online beginning in 2028 and that TeraWulf has hired Fluor to help construct the project.
  • He said securing skilled labor and contractors is a bigger challenge than equipment procurement as hyperscale AI facilities become increasingly specialized.
  • Prager said proximity to reliable power remains the most important requirement for AI customers.

Reading between the lines: TeraWulf says Bitcoin mining is no longer part of its long-term strategy.

  • Prager said the company originally entered Bitcoin mining because it already owned power assets and mining provided a flexible electricity customer.
  • He said Bitcoin's commodity-driven revenue model did not provide the predictable, long-term cash flows the company prefers.
  • "We're not involved in Bitcoin," Prager said, describing AI infrastructure as a more natural fit for TeraWulf's business.

Worth watching: Prager argued the AI infrastructure boom is constrained by power quality rather than available land.

  • He said the U.S. faces a shortage of electricity and warned investors that "not all megawatts are created equally."
  • Prager said successful AI campuses require reliable generation, redundant transmission, favorable regulation and strong community relationships.
  • He added that TeraWulf focuses on redeveloping former industrial sites and, where needed, adding new power generation to support both AI facilities and the broader electric grid.