Ionic Digital's bitcoin-to-AI pivot reaches its first rent month
The former mining operator began its Nscale lease at Ward County on Aug. 1, creating a near-term cash-flow test as it builds its public-market identity around power-ready data centers.
Ionic Digital has reached the first operating checkpoint in its shift from bitcoin mining to AI infrastructure. The company's SEC registration statement says fixed rent under its Nscale agreement began on Aug. 1 at the Ward County, Texas site, a 234-megawatt facility that used to anchor Ionic's mining operations.
The lease is a 126-month triple-net agreement with about $1.95 billion of contracted revenue over its initial term. Nscale is responsible for rent and ongoing site expenses, while Ionic remains responsible for managing the substation. That structure gives Ionic a different cash-flow profile from mining, where revenue depends on bitcoin prices, network difficulty and energy costs.
A ramp that can be measured month by month
The first lease year runs for 18 months. The filing sets monthly rent at $3.25 million for August and September, $6.5 million for October and November, and $9.75 million for December and January. After the ramp, annual fixed rent at the current 234 megawatts is expected to reach about $182.5 million, with 3% annual increases after the fifth year.
Ionic's July outlook put preliminary second-quarter net loss at $34 million to $35 million and adjusted EBITDA at $36 million to $37 million. It expects full-year revenue of $190 million to $195 million. Those figures are company estimates, and the first full quarter with fixed lease revenue will show how the accounting mix changes.
Bitcoin remains part of the funding model
Ionic reported 2,815.6 bitcoin worth about $192.1 million and $34.9 million of cash at March 31, with no debt. The filing says the company may use cash and bitcoin sales to fund roughly $40 million of capital spending for the current site and the next 89 megawatts of capacity. That ties the new lease to the old treasury model: predictable rent can support the transition, but bitcoin remains a financing resource.
The next expansion is not automatic. Ionic is seeking to take Ward County from 234 megawatts toward 700 megawatts, but the additional 89 megawatts tied to Nscale depends on regulatory approval and utility work. The useful test is whether rent arrives, capital spending stays controlled and the company can keep mining the remaining Midland sites while the data-center business scales.
