Alcoa Nears Deal to Sell Dormant New York Smelter to Bitcoin Miner NYDIG

Apr 19, 2026

Alcoa is in advanced negotiations to sell its idle Massena East smelter in upstate New York to Bitcoin mining firm NYDIG, with CEO Bill Oplinger expecting the deal to close in mid-2025. The facility, shuttered in 2014 due to high energy costs and foreign competition, sits along the St. Lawrence River with hydropower access from the New York Power Authority and currently hosts Coinmint's Bitcoin mining operations under a 2018 lease. NYDIG, owned by Stone Ridge, has emerged as an aggressive consolidator since the 2022 bear market, taking a stake in Coinmint in October 2024 and acquiring over 390 MW of capacity from other operators including Crusoe Energy's mining business. The transaction reflects broader competition between crypto miners and data center developers for large industrial sites with utility-scale power access, as post-halving economics push some miners toward AI infrastructure while BlackRock's recent $40 billion Aligned Data Centers acquisition valued power sites at $8 million per megawatt.

Alcoa's sale of Massena East smelter to NYDIG

▪Alcoa CEO Bill Oplinger said a deal for the Massena East site should be done in the middle part of 2025.
▪The Massena East smelter site sits along the St. Lawrence River.
▪Alcoa has been shopping around 10 shuttered US smelter properties.
▪The Massena East facility draws hydropower from the New York Power Authority.
▪Coinmint runs Bitcoin mining hardware at the 435-megawatt Massena campus under a 10-year lease with Alcoa signed in 2018.
▪The Massena East smelter was idled in 2014 after high energy costs and foreign competition dragged on domestic aluminum production.

NYDIG's strategic expansion in Bitcoin mining

▪NYDIG has been one of the most active consolidators in Bitcoin mining since the 2022 bear market.
▪Mintvest Capital alleged in a lawsuit earlier in 2025 that NYDIG had effectively acquired Coinmint for roughly $200 million.
▪NYDIG announced a definitive agreement to buy Crusoe Energy's Bitcoin mining business in March 2025.
▪NYDIG acquired Consensus Technology Group's roughly 120 MW of capacity across North Dakota, South Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Missouri in late 2024.
▪NYDIG took a strategic stake in Coinmint in October 2024.
▪Crusoe Energy's Bitcoin mining business includes more than 270 MW of generation assets.

Industry trend of repurposing smelters for digital infrastructure

▪Century Aluminum sold its Hawesville, Kentucky smelter to TeraWulf in February 2025 for $200 million in cash plus a 6.8% minority equity stake in a redevelopment vehicle.

Divergence between NYDIG's Bitcoin focus and industry shift to AI

▪BlackRock's Aligned Data Centers buyout valuation was about 160% above typical public miner valuations.
▪BlackRock's recent $40 billion Aligned Data Centers buyout valued power sites at roughly $8 million per megawatt.

Perspective of NYDIG

▪NYDIG's consolidation approach since 2022 positions the firm to control significant Bitcoin mining capacity across multiple states.

Perspective of Alcoa

▪Alcoa's divestment of the Massena East site represents part of a broader portfolio rationalization of 10 shuttered US smelter properties.

Perspective of Mintvest Capital

▪Mintvest Capital's lawsuit alleges NYDIG's strategic stake and subsequent actions amounted to a de facto $200 million Coinmint acquisition.

Perspective of Data center and AI infrastructure developers

▪BlackRock's $8 million per megawatt valuation for power sites significantly exceeds typical public Bitcoin miner valuations.
▪The Century Aluminum Hawesville sale to TeraWulf for AI workloads demonstrates industrial sites commanding $200 million valuations for non-crypto applications.