Cipher Digital's Annual Report Covers Colchis LLC

Cipher Digital's 2025 annual report had much to say about their Colchis project, Tom Green County's third possible data center.   It is a joint venture although Cipher Digital never shares their joint venture partner(s) or from whom they purchased their majority interest.

The Tom Green County Appraisal District shows four tracts of land owned by Colchis.  They are next to the land currently leased by SkyBox Data Centers for their project, which is currently being marketed by Emergent Data Centers as SA1.  Both sited in that location to access a large AEP electrical substation.  

Texas electricity regulator ERCOT is running a Batch Zero competition for the state's data center explosion.  That means SkyBox and Cipher are competing for the same monstrous amount of electricity.  

Cipher's Annual Report states: 

Colchis Site 

In November 2025, we purchased a majority interest in a joint venture entity to develop a new HPC site in West Texas capable of providing 1-GW, referred to as Colchis (the “Colchis Site”), under which we expect to hold a majority equity interest subject to final lease and development terms. The Colchis Site includes a fully executed direct interconnection agreement with American Electric Power (“AEP”) for a dual interconnection facility targeting energization in 2028 and options to buy approximately 620 acres of land adjacent to an existing substation.

Redeemable noncontrolling interest 

Redeemable noncontrolling interest represent a 47% noncontrolling ownership in Colchis, variable interest entity (“VIE”), and a consolidated subsidiary of the Company. The entity is deemed a VIE as it does not have sufficient equity-at-risk to finance its activities. As the managing member, the Company has the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact Colchis’s economic performance. Accordingly, the Company was determined to be the primary beneficiary of the VIE and therefore consolidates the entity in its consolidated financial statements. Redeemable noncontrolling interests are presented outside of permanent equity on the consolidated balance sheets as they are redeemable by the holders of the noncontrolling interest and the redemption is outside the control of the Company. The redeemable noncontrolling interests were initially recorded at their issuance date fair value of $30.3 million. The Company subsequently measures the carrying amount of the redeemable noncontrolling interests at the greater of (i) the initial carrying amount, increased or decreased for the noncontrolling interest’s share of net income or loss and its share of other comprehensive income or loss, and dividends or (ii) the redemption value. For interests that are  redeemable in the future, we recognize changes in the redemption value immediately as they occur.

Note 8:  Investment in Joint Ventures

In October 2025, the Company purchased 53% of the equity in Colchis LLC (“Colchis”), a joint venture of a potential 1 GW site in Texas, the “Colchis Site.” The Company is the managing member and consolidates Colchis, and records redeemable noncontrolling interest for the minority interest in the site. The Company deems the noncontrolling interest to be redeemable due to certain clauses in the agreement, which could trigger the redemption of the noncontrolling shares upon events outside of the Company's control. 

There were no changes in ownership of Colchis LLC for the year ended December 31, 2025 after the Company’s original investment.

Note 9:  Intangible Assets

 

The Company recorded amortization expense related to intangible assets of $0.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, $0.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, and $0.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. During the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company acquired strategic contracts for $56.6 million and $12.6 million related to the development of the Colchis and Ulysses sites, respectively, and wrote off $1.2 million of capitalized software related to software projects the Company is no longer pursuing.

There are mixed messages between the Annual Report and other Cipher corporate communications.  A November 3, 2025 press release stated:

In addition, Cipher today announced the formation of a joint entity to develop a 1-gigawatt (“GW”) site, named “Colchis”, in West Texas. Under the terms of the agreement, Cipher is expected to provide the majority of the financing, which would result in approximately 95% equity ownership assuming standard lease and development terms in a future HPC lease. 

The Colchis site includes a fully executed 1-GW Direct Connect Agreement with American Electric Power (“AEP”), under which AEP will construct the necessary dual interconnection facility for a targeted energization in 2028. Construction of the interconnection facility will proceed in parallel with ERCOT's final review and approval. The 620-acres of land under option sit adjacent to the existing substation, and the site has all the necessary characteristics for development of an HPC data center.

One said "purchased" the joint venture while the other said "formed."  One said 53% equity while the other said 95%.

I wonder if AEP's dual interconnection facility garners them an equity stake in Colchis.  It seems strange that AEP would pick one data center over another at this stage.  Shouldn't they work with whichever was approved by ERCOT via Batch Zero?  It feels like a thumb on the scale.  

However it is Texas where there are lots of thumbs and even more scales.  

"DDD" Show in Tom Green County

Data Center #3 has been identified for Tom Green County in West Texas.  

#1 is Skybox Data Centers which hired Emergent Data Centers to develop the project within the City of San Angelo.  

#2 is Beacon Data Centers which has their WestLine project in the Dove Creek area of the county.  

#3 is Cipher Digital using land "a quarter mile east" of the Skybox site, but outside city limits. 

#4 and higher   ?    

As of now TechGods and private equity underwriters (PEU) are driving the development and funding of rapid data center expansion.  Because this is all so enticing, I used the graphic art for the three breasted woman in the Total Recall remake.  

My wise friend noted:

You have to ask yourself, how many times are we going to be taken by the same cartel of scumbags?  They have set up AI as the demand center for the economy funded by circular arrangements with private credit, private equity, Wall Street & venture capitalists feasting on the flow. 

They have also set it up AI as a national security vital interest to combat the world. This means the billionaires class are the recipients of the fiscal push and probably the next bailout (yet again). 

The industry food chain and their CEOs (with their options and everything else) has a secured tokenized seat on the bubble ride and care not what happens at the end of the ride.  What happens to all the towns and counties that staked their future on failed mega data centers?  

My friend expects a cascading series of bankruptcies as the leverage that drove up local asset prices becomes a blender, shredding nearly everything financially on the way down with Uncle Sam saving those who need no assistance but can't stand to see their wealth go down. 

Politicians Red & Blue love PEU and their new TechGod brethren.   Increasingly, more are one.  Cryptbros are currently on the outs. 

Dominari Markets Drone Portfolio

Dominari Holdings press release included a letter to shareholders on their drone related assets.

The rise of the American drone industry is an important factor in our country's new economy, and we are honored to be a part of that rise. 

Drone dominance was described as a "presidential priority" in President Trump's $1.5 trillion defense budget request for fiscal year 2027.

Don Jr. and Eric recently exercised warrants on Dominari shares.  The company discounted the price of those warrants.  

....having an original exercise price of $4.22 per share. 

Exercise Price of such Exercised Warrants shall be reduced to $2.50.

That's a 40% discount for shares that are in a prime positioned to make bank from Trump II's war machine.

Shameless is as shameless does.  The Trumps must have it in their genes.  

Albania? They Went with Jared & His LPs

Euronews reported: 

Protests continued in Albania on Wednesday against a massive coastal development project linked to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, with demonstrators taking to the streets of Tirana for a third day to voice their opposition to the project. 

The government says the development on the Adriatic coast would be transformational for the former communist nation as it seeks to enter the high-end tourism market and pushes for European Union membership. 

But the venture, spanning a protected island and a nearby stretch of seafront on Albania's southern coast, has drawn opposition from environmental campaigners and critics of long-time Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama. 

The luxury project has two components: a coastal development in the Narta Lagoon area, which is a wildlife reserve, and a smaller resort on the nearby uninhabited island of Sazan, a communist-era military base.

Ivanka recently spoke about this project being a culmination of her life's work.   Residents of Fisher Island and Indian Creek, the "billionaire bunker" island in Miami's Biscayne Bay need a place to unwind and relax.  Partying in Miami with fellow TechGods, CryptoBros and Private Equity Underwriters (PEU) is hard work.  

Reshaping the globe at the World Economic Forum or Milken Global Conference requires serious down time.  What better than a pristine wildlife area affixed to a former Soviet Union military base.  

The new capitalism is the old communism with a dash of fascism, where money is made from state sponsored industries.  

The planned development of hotels, apartments, villas and a marina is linked to Kushner and Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump. 

 An investment firm linked to Kushner has been granted special investor status by Albanian authorities.

Affinity Partners is Jared's PEU, mostly investing Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund money.  Those are some large LPs.

Trump Calls for More Jan. 6th Love & PEUty

CNN reported:

President Donald Trump declined to commit to permanently scrapping a $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund on Wednesday, telling CNN’s Kaitlan Collins he still considered the controversial initiative “a beautiful thing”

In solidarity Trump II's meme-coin fell to $1.76 from a high of nearly $76 in January 2025.  

January 6th rioters called the day "their 1776."  This stain on the U.S. Capital should not be rewarded with massive sums of money.  

It's a precipitous fall in the rule of law and blasphemy of words originated in our very founding.  The public can expect lots more of this from Trump II and his savage whims.

It's unclear if the $1.776 billion fund has been stopped.  Trump II, the Great Usurper, routinely ignores the law, tradition, good manners, Congress and the Supremes.  

Affinity Partners may have to manage the money while the fund is in limbo and it may need to use the Trump's USD1 stablecoin as the currency.  It's the Trump version of private equity underwriting (PEU), where affiliates are forced to use each others services, regardless of price or quality.

Why can't anyone put a stop to this?  Because politicians Red & Blue love PEU and their new TechGod brethren.  Increasingly, more are one.

Update 6-5-26:  $TRUMP dropped again, hitting $1.59.

T Minus 7 Trading Days for SPAC-EX Takeoff

The countdown for SpaceX's IPO is seven trading days.  TechGod Elon Musk and his investor peers will serve up a minimal number of shares.  Jesse wrote:

SpaceX is absurdly overvalued, but the rules that will compel index funds into forced buying have been distorted just for this final gasp of the AI bubble. This is a shocking betrayal of fiduciary and regulatory duty. Not only can they see what is coming, they are acting purposely to make it happen again for their own selfish gains.

Wall Street joined in making numerous special accommodations for the richest man in the world.

Morningstar suggested SPAC-EX's IPO is pro-executive, pro Elon and riddled with conflicts of interest, the new badge of courage in Washington, D.C. and corporate executive suites. 

The SpaceX IPO is as tilted as a Chamath Palihapitiya SPAC, so buyers beware!  

It should be a picturesque IPO if it makes it off "the pad."

Update 6-6-26:  Jesse wrote:

There are some key IPOs coming out later this month. As always they involve a scandalous manipulation of the rules of the exchanges to benefit a wealthy few. 

“Not only did Nasdaq gut its 'seasoning' requirement to allow SpaceX into its index only 15 days after its IPO, it also changed how it adjusts its weighting in the Nasdaq 100 index for 'low-float' stocks.” 

Although only those who understand how these things work may understand it, this is a scandal of the highest level. If we had a functioning regulatory office this would not be happening. But this is the naked face of the kleptocracy.

Update 6-8-26:

PEUs Came for Scott Pelley

60 Minutes reporter Scott Pelley finally experienced what countless have after a buyout, a new operating model that craps on people and organizational quality in favor of financial gimmickery, incapable technology, a purposeful reduction in quality and complete/total subservience.  

NYPo reported:

In a Monday morning meet-and-greet gone wrong, Pelley took aim at CBS News Editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, claiming she was “murdering ’60 Minutes,'” and that she “was brought in to kill it and is doing exactly that,” according to a source briefed on the meeting. 

“She has no qualifications for her job,” Pelley said of Weiss, according to the source. “The changes that she’s made at the ‘Evening News’ have been catastrophic, so why should we expect that any of this is going to be any better?”

I'd hoped for decades that the private equity underwriter (PEU) model, which hollowed out so many workplaces. would be the focus of story after story.  TechGods foisted "magic" software solutions that required hours on hold with IT to solve the most basic problems.

PEU founders became policy making billionaires, so elected officials remained on the sidelines when they had power to intervene.  TechGods noticed and adopted the PEU playbook requiring avowed Libertarians to become big government budget parasites.

Eight years ago two private equity firms, TPG Capital and Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe purchased a majority interest in my employer.  They brought a new operating model which drove our customer service scores into the basement.  Management never said a word about declining scores even though they were displayed on the wall of our conference room.

They slashed staff and gave us a "magic" new computer/software setup that was supposed to be all things to all people.  It spied on us.  It ripped us off in terms or pay and mileage.  The Department of Labor did not care.

But most of all they took away our voice.  They never asked for feedback on the changes, their management, their incapable systems or their new priorities which grated with our longstanding pride in the quality of our work.  

CBS News took away Scott Pelley's voice and he had none of that.  His statement included:

... the new owner of our network is casting this legend aside, apparently to curry a moment of favor with the Trump administration. 

 The waste is heartbreaking. 

 Last month, 60 Minutes lost its DNA when our entire senior leadership and two of our best on-air correspondents were cruelly fired without cause. Good people were silenced because they stood up for our audience. They stood for fairness against the forces of political bias; they stood for professionalism against chaos. 

 For my part, new management has instructed me to inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story. I’ve been told to include assertions that are unverified.

That story is as old as 2010 and as fresh as today.

The PEU/TechGod class are not leaders, who would have made ample room for people to be heard.  They control.  It's their imposition.  No quarter is given in their pursuit of profits.

The Lords of Capital designed the influence system, recently copied by their far brasher TechGod brethren.  Together, they make federal policy and endlessly tap Uncle Sam's wallet for billions.

Scott Pelley's new boss is journalist to the TechGods.  Apparently, listening is not one of his skills,

Thank God the TechGod class is so crude and transparent in their machinations.  The Lords of Capital operated with stealth to the point that one had to dig to uncover their conflicts of interest and takeover of both political teams. 

As for management under PEU/TechGods, honest feedback is not appreciated.  They paint reasoned criticism as unhinged ranting that leads directly to violence.  

 “We did not want that to happen, but that’s the path that he (Pelley) chose.”--statement from CBS Bari Weiss

CBS News now knows the story, however they can no longer run it.  The bosses' version, however fictional, must be upheld.  

They characterize people as "so angry."  Well, there's a guy in the New Testament who tossed tables and he is widely worshiped.

Politicians Red & Blue love PEU and their new TechGod brethren.  Increasingly, more are one.

The PEU/TechGod class came for investigative journalism.  For that, all of America suffers. 

Update 6-4-26:  This sounds like our workplace after six months of PEU majority ownership.  It's from 60 Minutes staff:

“Morale is terrible throughout the company.  No one knows what to believe or who is working against them. It has never been like this before. The staff in the newsroom all feel like they cannot trust anyone. How can you work like that?”

The only safe communication we had was a stroll outside without our cell phones.  Otherwise, management had the means and meanness to monitor everything.  CBS legends have spoken out against the decimation of 60 Minutes.

The story that played out in thousands of workplaces, the Lords of Capital savaging their liege, has come for 60 Minutes.  

It is but another step in Trump II's final public ratings implosion as PEU/TechGods seal their rightly power over all.  If you control the investigators you control what gets investigated.  

60 Minutes veteran Steve Kroft stated the show "no longer exists" following the series of firings which culminated in Scott Pelley's termination.  He noted:

“This is journalistic interference. It makes no business sense whatsoever. It’s the highest-rated news program on television, and it has been that way for more than 50 years.”

That's what a PEU/TechGod modernization does.  It makes something good and of substance into a surface reflection of their mendacity and greed. 

With the PEU/TechGod reliance on repeating, layered income streams and addicting customers, how long before 60 Minutes has a Kalshi, Polymarket or Truth Social tie up?

Part of good leadership is diffusing situations, and when they start to spiral out of control, it feels like a rookie move to throw a log on the fire.

Good leadership went the way of "no jerks" in management, having one full time job with a livable salary, actual customer service and declaring conflicts of interest.  The PEU/TechGod class trashed every one of them.