The default trigger and the deadlines

When does the hyperscaler have to choose, and what happens if it says nothing?

Google’s backstops of the Fluidstack leases turn on one trigger: Fluidstack’s insolvency, or a payment event of default under the lease. The landlord must tell Google at once. Google then has 30 days to verify the trigger and choose between letting the lease end against a termination fee and taking the lease over. Silence is not neutral. If Google says nothing, it is treated as rejecting the lease, unless only assumption is open, in which case it is treated as assuming it. At Barber Lake the test that decides whether rejection is open is applied phase by phase.

Randeep Bubbra | Lawyer | Making the next generation of infrastructure financeable · Firm profile · Updated 29 October 2026

What the filed contracts say

Contract	What the filed wording says
Google recognition (TeraWulf)	The trigger is Fluidstack’s insolvency or a payment event of default. The landlord must notify Google immediately, and Google has 30 days to verify it.
Google recognition (TeraWulf)	If Google neither elects nor defers within the 30 days, it is deemed to reject the lease, or deemed to assume it where only assumption is open.
Google recognition (Cipher)	At Barber Lake the fit-out test is measured against an initial baseline for the phase I areas until phase II starts, then against a later baseline for the whole premises. Both figures are redacted.

The filed wording

In the event that (i) Fluidstack has become subject to an Insolvency Event or (ii) an Event of Default under Section 15.1.1 of the Fluidstack Lease has occurred (the occurrence of (i) or (ii), the “FS Default Trigger”), Akela will immediately provide Google written notice (the “Google Default Notice”) that the FS Default Trigger has occurred. An “Insolvency Event” is the occurrence of an event identified in Section 15.1.3 of the Fluidstack Lease. Thereupon, Google will have a period of 30 days after receipt of the Google Default Notice (“Verification Period”) to verify that the requirements of the FS Default Trigger have been met. … For the avoidance of doubt, if Google has neither provided the Google Election Notice or elected the Deferral Option by written notice on or before the end of the Verification Period, Google will be deemed to have elected the Google Rejection Option (or, in the case of the Assumption Only Condition, Google will be deemed to have elected the Google Assumption Option).

Google recognition agreement, Lake Mariner, section 4(a) · TeraWulf 8-K, Exhibit 10.1

Hyperscaler recognition agreements The hyperscaler pays the rent while it decides Where the termination fee goes, and what the hyperscaler gets for it Hyperscaler backstops and RVGs explained Put it on an issues list All contract clauses

On the deal pages

Financings by the parties to these contracts

The latest debt raised by the companies that signed them, with the terms and the sources on each deal page.

Financing	Borrower or issuer	Date	Amount
Cipher Digital 0.00% convertible senior notes due 2032	Cipher Digital	16 October 2026	US$850m
Cipher Digital 6.00% senior secured notes due 2031	Cipher Digital	15 June 2026	US$810m
Revolver	TeraWulf	7 May 2026	US$250m
Cipher Digital revolving credit facility with US$50m accordion	Cipher Digital	23 March 2026	US$200m
Raylan Data Hawesville delayed draw bridge	TeraWulf	13 March 2026	US$500m

Method

Each extract is quoted from the contract as filed with the SEC, checked against the filed text when it was added; “…” marks words left out. Filers redact commercial terms, so a [***] or [*] is the filer's, not ours. The summaries describe the wording, not how a court would read it, and each contract's defined terms and other clauses can change the effect. General information drawn from public filings. It is not legal advice on any transaction, and using this page does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Views are personal.