Rumors on social media drive Hut 8's pre-market stock price up by 12%, possibly in collaboration with Meta

According to CoinDesk, the stock price of Bitcoin mining company Hut 8 (HUT) rose nearly 12% in pre-market trading to $30 due to rumors on social media that its data center being built in Louisiana may be related to Meta Platforms (META). However, Hut 8 and Meta have not yet officially announced any partnership.

Hut 8 is investing $12 billion in building a data center in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. Previously, Meta also announced plans to invest $10 billion in building an AI data center in Richland Parish within the same state. There are similarities between Bitcoin mining companies and AI data centers regarding computational capacity and energy demand. Many mining companies are gradually entering the field of AI computing to expand their sources of income. Recently, Hut 8 also announced a market issuance plan worth $500 million and a share buyback plan worth $250 million. As of November, the company held 9,122 BTC (worth $921 million), making it the seventh-largest Bitcoin holder among publicly listed companies.