Cipher Digital : Barber Lake

Overview

Cipher Digital (NASDAQ: CIFR), formerly Cipher Mining, is a New York-based developer and operator of large-scale data center campuses in Texas. CEO Tyler Page leads the company. Cipher's footprint spans operational mining facilities (Odessa, Alborz, Bear, Chief) and a deep pipeline of HPC/AI campuses in West Texas including Black Pearl, Barber Lake, Stingray, Reveille, Mikeska, McLennan, Milsing, Ulysses, and the Colchis development.

Strategic pivot to HPC/AI (2026)

On the Q1 2026 earnings call (May 5, 2026), Cipher formally rebranded from Cipher Mining to Cipher Digital, reflecting a strategic shift to hyperscale HPC/AI hosting as the company's forward business. Bitcoin mining at Black Pearl is being wound down to redirect power and land to AI tenants.

Contracted backlog now totals approximately $9.3 billion, anchored by three hyperscale leases:

• AWS. 15-year lease for 300 MW of HPC capacity.
• Fluidstack / Google-backed. 10-year lease for 300 MW, with the Barber Lake facility expected to commence operations in September 2026.
• Third hyperscaler. An additional hyperscale campus lease signed during Q1 2026.

Q1 2026 financials

• Bitcoin mining revenue: $34.8 million (down from approximately $60 million in Q4 2025) as mining at Black Pearl is wound down.
• Net loss: $114 million.
• Funding: Closed a $2 billion high-yield bond for the Black Pearl HPC buildout and a $200 million revolving credit facility.

Capex direction

New capital is flowing fully to HPC/AI buildout. Existing mining capacity is treated as legacy that gets converted to hyperscale colocation as power and infrastructure are redirected to AWS, Fluidstack, and the third hyperscale tenant.