Riot Platforms has secured up to $573 million in interim financing for a large-scale data-center project tied to a 20-year lease, though the maturity date precedes the expected start of rental revenue.
Earlier this month, Riot disclosed a 20-year lease for 191 megawatts of critical IT capacity at its Rockdale, Texas, campus, with reports subsequently identifying the tenant as artificial intelligence lab Anthropic. Riot itself has not publicly named the tenant.
The first 96 megawatts of capacity are scheduled for delivery in December 2027, followed by the remaining 95 megawatts in June 2028. Riot estimates the initial lease will generate approximately $9.1 billion through June 2048, with potential extensions that could increase the total contract value to $16.1 billion.
To fund initial development costs, a Riot subsidiary entered into a senior secured delayed-draw facility administered by Morgan Stanley Senior Funding for up to $573 million. Because it is a delayed-draw structure, the figure represents available borrowing rather than cash already received by Riot.
Borrowings under the Morgan Stanley facility mature on Dec. 31, 2026, which is roughly 12 months before the first Anthropic capacity is scheduled to come online and begin generating rent. The facility carries an interest rate of adjusted term SOFR plus 2.75%, or a defined base rate plus 1.75%, alongside customary fees. The debt is secured primarily by assets of the project borrower and specified credit parties, with generally no recourse to Riot Platforms itself.
Riot has described the facility as interim financing while it finalizes an investment-grade credit backstop. The company has not yet disclosed the provider, committed amount, or binding terms for the backstop, making the upcoming financing handoff a central execution point before the bridge loan matures.
Overall capital requirements for the infrastructure buildout are estimated between $2.1 billion and $2.3 billion for the Rockdale project. Riot expects debt financing to cover roughly $1.7 billion to $2.1 billion under an assumed 80% to 90% loan-to-cost structure.
Data from BitcoinTreasuries.net indicates that Riot currently holds approximately 11,380 Bitcoin, positioning it as one of the largest public holders of the cryptocurrency, though the disclosed collateral for the data-center financing facility does not identify Bitcoin.
