Core Scientific Seeks $3.3 Billion Junk Bond Sale to Build AI Data Centers

Core Scientific is seeking to raise $3.3 billion through a junk bond sale to further its pivot from bitcoin mining to artificial intelligence-focused data center operations, according to CoinDesk.

“Core Scientific seeks $3”

@coindesk

The company is building six AI data centers, which it says are leased to CoreWeave for 12 years and are expected to generate approximately $10 billion in revenue.

@coindesk

CoinDesk frames the move as part of a broader rush for AI infrastructure financing, noting that borrowers linked to AI infrastructure have raised $17.9 billion in junk bonds so far this year, citing Bloomberg.

The financing is described as high-yield debt issuance that will fund construction costs, repay existing debt, and build reserves, while also supporting construction across several states if costs exceed available funds.

CoinDesk also reports that Core Scientific sold $175 million in bitcoin last month to further its AI pivot and that the company still holds “under 1,000 bitcoin,” according to CFO Jim Nygaard.

In parallel, TradingView reports that Core Scientific plans a $3.3 billion debt raise through senior secured notes due in 2031, with proceeds expected to fund ongoing data center development and refinance existing short-term debt.

TheEnergyMag similarly says Core Scientific plans to issue senior secured notes due 2031 to qualified institutional buyers and describes the notes as backed by first-priority liens on substantially all assets of Core Scientific and certain subsidiaries, plus equity interests.

While CoinDesk emphasizes the junk bond sale framing, TradingView and TheEnergyMag provide additional structure on how the financing is meant to work and where the money is expected to go.

TradingView says the financing will come through senior secured notes due in 2031, and it adds that the notes will be backed by Core Scientific’s assets so investors have priority claims in the event of default.

CoinDesk

It also states that proceeds are expected to fund ongoing data center development and refinance existing short-term debt, and that Core Scientific plans to repay borrowings under its 364-day credit facility, extending debt maturities as it scales infrastructure.

TradingView identifies expansion projects in Georgia, Texas, North Carolina and Oklahoma, and it says the proposed raise follows a separate $1 billion credit agreement with Morgan Stanley announced in March.

TheEnergyMag adds that Core Scientific announced on Tuesday it plans to issue the notes due 2031 to qualified institutional buyers, with proceeds used in part to establish a debt service reserve account.

It further says Core Scientific intends to use a portion of those funds to fully repay its outstanding delayed draw term loans tied to a previously announced 364-day credit facility, including accrued interest and associated fees.

TheEnergyMag also specifies that subsidiaries, including Core Scientific’s operating entities in Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, and Oklahoma, will serve as guarantors, and it lists ongoing data center developments in Dalton, Georgia; Denton, Texas; Marble, North Carolina; and Muskogee, Oklahoma.

The sources connect the financing push to the economics of bitcoin mining and the shift toward AI hosting, describing how Core Scientific’s earlier mining model became pressured and how its assets gained a new use case.

“Core Scientific (NASDAQ: CORZ) is seeking to raise $3”

TheEnergyMag

CoinDesk says Core Scientific was once a bitcoin miner and that it was squeezed by high power costs and a weak bitcoin price before filing for Chapter 11 in December 2022.

It adds that Core Scientific emerged from reorganization in January 2024 and was relisted on Nasdaq under the ticker CORZ.

CoinDesk also ties the pivot to the April 2024 halving, stating that the halving cut block rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125, and it says that by late 2025 the average cash cost to mine one bitcoin rose while the price of BTC itself had been on a downturn, from over $125,000 to around $75,800.

TradingView describes the broader environment as “tighter conditions in the mining sector” and says crypto miners are pivoting toward high-performance computing and artificial intelligence workloads.

CoinDesk explains the logic of the pivot by saying that miners’ most valuable assets—already-built data centers and power contracts—gained a new use case: hosting computers that power AI.

CoinDesk further states that Core Scientific was one of the first miners to pivot on a large scale, which “caught investors' attention and sparked the AI push,” and it reports that the company’s shares were up about 6% on Tuesday and up nearly 42% this year while bitcoin fell 11%.

The financing details in TheEnergyMag emphasize how Core Scientific is structuring risk and repayment through collateral and contractual protections.

TheEnergyMag says the notes will be backed by first-priority liens on substantially all assets of Core Scientific and certain subsidiaries, as well as equity interests, and it specifies that subsidiaries including Core Scientific’s operating entities in Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, and Oklahoma will serve as guarantors.

TradingView

It also describes a completion guarantee from Core Scientific tied to several ongoing data center developments in Dalton, Georgia; Denton, Texas; Marble, North Carolina; and Muskogee, Oklahoma.

Under the arrangement, TheEnergyMag reports that Core would be required to inject additional capital if proceeds from the notes and other available funds fall short of completing the projects.

CoinDesk similarly says Core Scientific plans to use proceeds to repay existing debt and fund reserves, and it describes the issuance as funding construction costs, repaying existing debt, and building reserves.

TradingView adds that unlike an equity raise, the offering allows the company to access capital without diluting existing shareholders, and it says the notes are backed by Core Scientific’s assets, giving investors priority claims in the event of default.

TheEnergyMag also notes that the financing includes a debt service reserve account, and it ties the notes to a previously announced 364-day credit facility through delayed draw term loans.

Beyond Core Scientific’s own bond plan, the sources describe how the mining-to-AI transition is being financed through partnerships and additional capital flows across the sector.

“Core Scientific seeks $3”

@coindesk

TradingView says the crypto mining industry is increasingly turning to partnerships to finance and expand its footprint in AI and data center workloads, and it points to Soluna Holdings and Blockware.

@coindesk

On Tuesday, TradingView reports that Soluna Holdings announced an expanded partnership with Bitcoin mining infrastructure provider Blockware, and it says the deal is expected to add 3.3 megawatts of capacity at Soluna’s West Texas colocation facility.

TradingView adds that the agreement marks Blockware’s fourth expansion with Soluna and that Soluna is also expanding into AI workloads, including a $53 million investment in a wind farm to support those operations as mining revenues come under pressure.

CoinDesk also situates Core Scientific’s move within a sequence of large deals, saying recent offerings tied to Google-backed data centers and CoreWeave raised a combined $6.7 billion.

It adds that another firm, Edged Compute, is marketing $1.3 billion in bonds to fund facilities leased to CoreWeave and an Alibaba unit.

TheEnergyMag underscores that the planned issuance marks one of the largest debt raises by a Bitcoin mining company since the industry began pivoting toward high-performance computing and AI infrastructure.