Keel, Hive Shares Jump as Companies Continue Shift From Bitcoin Mining to AI

Shares in publicly traded Bitcoin miners turned AI-focused data center companies Keel Infrastructure (KEEL) and Hive Digital Technologies (HIVE) have jumped on Wednesday amid new announcements on the firm’s respective AI plans. 

Keel, formerly known as Bitfarms, closed on the sale of its mining site in Paso Pe, Paraguay, netting $13 million in proceeds as it continues its departure from mining the top crypto asset.

Hive, on the other hand, closed a $115 million private offering of convertible notes, with proceeds earmarked for GPU purchases or data center development, among other things. 

Keel’s sale leaves it with “no remaining non-core assets to manage or divest,” according to CEO Ben Gagnon. The firm initially expected to net as much as $30 million in proceeds from the sale, but walked away with about 56% less in proceeds at the time of closing. 

“The price adjustment reflects where Bitcoin mining economics stand today and our thesis remains the same,” Gagnon said in a statement. “We brought forward roughly two to three years of estimated free cash flow under current market conditions, in cash, and upfront.”

“That capital will be immediately allocated to our HPC/AI pipeline development, where we believe we will be able to generate much stronger returns and create more value for our shareholders,” he added, noting that the firm has now cleanly exited from Latin America and has its sights squarely set on supporting AI in North America. 

The pair have been active in expanding their AI businesses in the last six months, with Hive notching a deal with computer maker Dell in a bid to empower its AI expansion in November via its Buzz subsidiary. Shares in the firm have fallen since then, but have rebounded more than 31% in the last month of trading, recently changing hands at $2.66—up more than 7% on the day.

Meanwhile, KEEL has risen even further over the same period, gaining more than 40% in the last month of trading to change hands around $3.06—with a roughly 9% gain on Wednesday so far.

Bitcoin, the leading crypto asset that the firms continue to distance themselves from, has risen 4% in the last 24 hours to trade around $79,000. It remains 37% off its October all-time high of $126,080.