BlackRock–Nvidia deal to boost mining efficiency by 160%

According to Bloomberg, a group of investors including BlackRock, Nvidia, Microsoft, and Elon Musk’s xAI has agreed to acquire Aligned Data Centers from Macquarie Asset Management for $40 billion.

Aligned builds and operates large campuses for cloud and enterprise clients, managing about 50 facilities across North and South America with a total capacity of over 5 gigawatts.
The company’s headquarters will remain in Dallas, Texas, and the deal is expected to close in the first half of 2026, pending regulatory approval.

The buyers will join an AI infrastructure development partnership, a consortium formed last year by BlackRock and MGX to invest tens of billions of dollars in AI-based computing projects.

This marks a major milestone for the mining industry, as traditional corporations are now entering the field.

Matthew Sigel, Head of Digital Assets Research at VanEck, calculated that the $40 billion price tag “implies a valuation of roughly $8 million per megawatt of capacity.”

That’s far higher than the typical $3 million per megawatt paid by public mining companies such as Iris Energy, Riot Platforms, Cipher Mining, and Hut 8.

According to Sigel, if miners gain access to project financing, their equity share could rise by 150–500%.
This 160% efficiency gap per megawatt highlights the growing convergence between AI data center infrastructure and Bitcoin mining.

See also: "Bitcoin Hashrate Reaches Record 1.2 ZH/s, Mining Competition Intensifies"

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