{"slug": "amazons-debt-nearly-doubles-to-129b-amid-220b-data-center-spending-spree", "title": "Amazon’s debt nearly doubles to $129B amid $220B data center spending spree", "summary": "Amazon's long-term debt has nearly doubled to $128.9 billion from about $65 billion, driven by a capital expenditure spree that includes a raised 2026 capex guidance of $220 billion and a $25 billion bond issuance. CEO Andy Jassy says the spending is necessary to keep AWS ahead in the AI arms race, with AWS Q2 2025 revenue reaching $129 billion, up 20% year-over-year. The expansion also impacts Bitcoin miners, as Cipher Mining signed a $5.5 billion, 15-year deal with AWS to supply 300 MW of AI-ready power starting in 2026, reflecting a trend where miners have secured over $70 billion in AI and HPC contracts.", "body_md": "Via aboutamazon.com\n\n# Amazon’s debt nearly doubles to $129B amid $220B data center spending spree\n\nThe tech giant's aggressive AI infrastructure bet is quietly reshaping the economics of Bitcoin mining along the way\n\nAmazon’s long-term debt has ballooned to roughly $128.9 billion, nearly doubling from around $65 billion. The cause: a capital expenditure spree that CEO Andy Jassy insists is not optional but necessary to keep AWS ahead in the AI arms race.\n\nThe company recently raised its 2026 capex guidance to $220 billion, up from an already eye-popping $200 billion target. A $25 billion bond issuance helped fund the expansion.\n\n## Why Jassy is betting the balance sheet\n\nAWS reported Q2 2025 revenue of $129 billion, reflecting 20% year-over-year growth. Jassy has framed the spending as a response to “sustained customer demands” for AWS services.\n\nAmazon isn’t alone in this race. Microsoft, Google, and Meta are all throwing staggering sums at data center buildouts.\n\n## The crypto angle hiding in plain sight\n\nCipher Mining recently signed a $5.5 billion, 15-year agreement with AWS to supply 300 MW of AI-ready power, with operations expected to begin in 2026. That’s a Bitcoin miner essentially becoming a power and infrastructure landlord for one of the world’s largest cloud providers. The deal reflects a broader trend: miners are sitting on exactly what hyperscalers need most, which is permitted power capacity and existing sites that can be converted for high-performance computing.\n\nBitcoin miners have collectively secured over $70 billion in AI and HPC contracts. Analysts project that by late 2026, AI revenue could represent more than 70% of total revenues for publicly listed miners.\n\n## What this means for investors\n\nFor crypto investors, the pivot of Bitcoin miners toward AI computing represents one of the most significant structural shifts in the mining sector’s history. Companies like Cipher Mining are essentially hedging against Bitcoin price volatility by diversifying into enterprise computing infrastructure.\n\nThis creates a new valuation framework for mining stocks. The AI contract backlog, power capacity, and relationships with hyperscalers now matter as much as, if not more than, the Bitcoin holdings on their balance sheets.\n\n**Disclosure:** This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our\n\n[Editorial Policy](https://cryptobriefing.com/editorial-policy/).", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/amazons-debt-nearly-doubles-to-129b-amid-220b-data-center-spending-spree", "canonical_source": "https://cryptobriefing.com/amazon-debt-doubles-129b-data-center-spending/", "published_at": "2026-08-02 14:28:04+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-02 15:05:19.383774+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-infrastructure", "ai-policy"], "entities": ["Amazon", "AWS", "Andy Jassy", "Microsoft", "Google", "Meta", "Cipher Mining", "Bitcoin"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/amazons-debt-nearly-doubles-to-129b-amid-220b-data-center-spending-spree", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/amazons-debt-nearly-doubles-to-129b-amid-220b-data-center-spending-spree.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/amazons-debt-nearly-doubles-to-129b-amid-220b-data-center-spending-spree.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/amazons-debt-nearly-doubles-to-129b-amid-220b-data-center-spending-spree.jsonld"}}