Galaxy Digital buys 500 acres in Texas for second data center campus

Galaxy Digital Inc. acquired 500 acres in McGregor, Texas, for an artificial intelligence and high-performance computing data center campus, its second major infrastructure bet in the state as demand for compute capacity surges past available supply.

"McGregor is the next step in our strategy to build a disciplined, multi-campus data center business," Mike Novogratz, founder and chief executive officer of Galaxy, said.

The initial phase targets 74 megawatts of capacity, with power delivery expected to begin in 2028. Galaxy believes the site can expand to several hundred megawatts by 2030, contingent on additional transmission infrastructure from Heart of Texas Electric Cooperative, with which it has executed a services agreement. The company will build a private electrical substation on the campus and provide financial security for incidental local infrastructure upgrades.

The project adds to Galaxy's existing 1.6-gigawatt Helios campus in Dickens County, acquired in 2022, where it is the largest employer and taxpayer. The McGregor campus is expected to add at least $130 million to the local property tax base and support several hundred construction jobs, followed by permanent full-time operations roles at competitive annual salaries agreed to with the city. Galaxy, which trades on the Nasdaq under GLXY, is diversifying beyond its crypto roots into AI infrastructure, a market where hyperscalers including Microsoft, Amazon, and Google are projected to spend more than $200 billion on data center capex this year, according to industry estimates from Gartner.

The privately funded campus will use a closed-loop cooling system that recirculates water internally, addressing a key environmental concern for data centers in drought-prone Texas. Galaxy purchased the site in McGregor's Industrial Park under a development agreement with the city that provides roughly $7.5 million in land-sale revenue to the municipality.

Galaxy's expansion mirrors a broader industry push as cloud providers and specialized operators race to secure power-constrained sites for AI workloads. Texas has emerged as a prime location due to its deregulated ERCOT grid, available land, and relatively fast interconnection timelines. The state now hosts more than a dozen large-scale data center projects under development, with total capacity exceeding 10 gigawatts across various stages of planning and construction, according to data from the Texas Economic Development Corp.

For Galaxy, the McGregor campus represents a strategic pivot. The company, best known as a crypto asset manager and miner, is building its infrastructure arm to capture a share of the AI compute market — a shift that could reshape its revenue mix and valuation profile. Rival operators such as CoreWeave and Digital Realty have also accelerated land acquisition in Texas, intensifying competition for grid interconnection rights and construction labor. CoreWeave, which raised $12 billion in debt financing last year, has secured multiple sites across the state, while Digital Realty operates more than 30 data centers in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro alone.

The initial 74-megawatt phase is modest relative to hyperscale projects, but Galaxy's option to expand to multi-hundred-megawatt scale through 2030 gives it a long-dated growth trajectory. The company did not disclose the total capital commitment for the McGregor campus. Galaxy shares have gained roughly 18% year to date, reflecting investor optimism about its infrastructure pivot, though the stock remains well below its 2021 highs as crypto market volatility continues to weigh on its core trading and asset management segments.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.