Bitdeer Technologies Group’s sharp share-price decline after its latest earnings report appears to be centered less on its quarterly operating results than on how the company plans to finance an expensive expansion into AI computing infrastructure. Benchmark Equity Research maintained its Buy rating and $22 price target after Bitdeer shares closed at $8.86 following a selloff of more than 20% on Monday, a level that leaves Benchmark’s target implying roughly 153% upside.
The immediate trigger was Bitdeer’s filing of a new shelf registration statement and the transfer of its at-the-market, or ATM, equity program onto that shelf with up to $1 billion available for takedown. A shelf registration allows a company to issue securities over time rather than in one transaction. An ATM program can sell shares into the public market gradually, giving the company flexibility but raising the prospect that existing shareholders could be diluted.
Benchmark said the market reaction followed the financing filing, despite a quarter that showed accelerating revenue and a sharp improvement in adjusted EBITDA. The disconnect places Bitdeer’s mining cash generation and its AI data-center ambitions on opposite sides of the same debate: the company has secured a large long-term AI contract, but completing the conversion of mining infrastructure into GPU capacity will require substantial capital.
Revenue and EBITDA increased in the second quarter
Bitdeer reported second-quarter revenue of $228.8 million on Aug. 10, up 47% from a year earlier and 21% from the first quarter, according to the company’s earnings release. Adjusted EBITDA reached $31.1 million, an increase of 575% year over year.
The company’s net loss widened to $92.3 million in the quarter, according to the supplied earnings figures. That loss, combined with the newly expanded equity-issuance capacity, gave traders a clearer view of the funding demands attached to Bitdeer’s planned buildout.
Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer said Bitcoin mining currently generates all of Bitdeer’s revenue and supplies the operating cash flow and physical infrastructure that can support its push into AI-related services. The company’s mining business has expanded rapidly: Bitdeer mined 2,694 Bitcoin during the second quarter, while its proprietary hash rate rose 389% from a year earlier to 69.5 exahashes per second, according to the company.
That mining scale helps explain why Bitdeer has assets that can be converted rather than building every element of a new AI campus from scratch. Yet mining output does not eliminate the need for capital when a site must be reconfigured for high-density GPU workloads, which require specialized power, cooling, networking and server equipment.
The Norway agreement puts AI capacity at the center of spending plans
Benchmark’s valuation case relies heavily on Bitdeer’s $4.7 billion colocation and services agreement with Volta Tydal AS, a 16-year arrangement for an AI computing facility in Tydal, Norway. The contract covers 121 IT megawatts of critical load across four data halls designed for NVIDIA GPUs, with an AI laboratory identified as the end customer.
The scale of that contract gives Bitdeer a defined commercial destination for the site, rather than merely an intention to enter the AI hosting market. It also turns execution and funding into the immediate questions. Benchmark estimated that about $500 million of capital expenditure remains necessary to complete the Tydal conversion and final construction stages.
Hundreds of millions of dollars had already been spent developing the location for Bitcoin mining before it was designated for AI use, Benchmark said. Earlier work included a substation, equipment pad and power interconnection. Those components could shorten the timetable for bringing GPU capacity online, since power delivery is often among the slowest and most capital-intensive parts of a data-center project.
The arrangement also illustrates why Bitdeer’s financing decision drew such a strong market response. A company with a multibillion-dollar service agreement and a half-billion-dollar remaining construction requirement has a stronger case for raising capital than a miner issuing equity solely to cover routine operating costs. Yet the size of the available ATM capacity means traders must consider the possibility that equity issuance could become a meaningful part of that funding mix.
Debt financing could limit dilution but depends on execution
Benchmark’s commentary said Bitdeer management prefers project debt when stable contracted cash flows can support it, rather than relying entirely on new shares. The Volta Tydal agreement could potentially provide the type of long-duration revenue profile lenders assess when financing data-center infrastructure.
Project debt would reduce reliance on the ATM facility if it becomes available on workable terms. It would also add fixed obligations and place greater pressure on Bitdeer to deliver the Tydal capacity on schedule. The company’s existing mining revenue gives it a foundation for the transition, but the AI project’s economics will depend on construction costs, hardware deployment, energy availability and the customer’s use of the contracted capacity.
Bitdeer’s second-quarter results therefore produced two competing signals. Revenue, EBITDA and mining production improved sharply, while the financing structure highlighted the amount of external capital that may be needed before the AI contract can contribute at full scale. Benchmark’s $22 target assumes the company can translate its mining-built infrastructure and Norway agreement into a larger AI hosting business without equity issuance overwhelming the value created by that expansion.
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