When a Bitcoin miner makes a deal with a Redmond giant, Wall Street reacts immediately. IREN shows that cryptocurrency infrastructure can have a second life – and what kind of life. The artificial intelligence industry needs computing power like a desert wanderer needs water. This means a reshuffle, also among bitcoin miners.
Microsoft is betting on IREN – USD 9.7 billion on the table
IREN, a company that started as a Bitcoin miner, announced on Monday a multi-year agreement with Microsoft to provide GPU cloud services. The contract is worth USD 9.7 billion and covers a five-year cooperation period, under which Microsoft will receive access to Nvidia GB300 graphics processors. Interestingly, the technology giant has already paid 20% of the contract value in advance. This is a clear signal of how seriously he takes this partner.
Dell joins the game – another billion for hardware
However, this is not the end of the buying fever of the bitcoin miner, who is also starting to deal with AI. The company also signed a separate $5.8 billion contract with Dell Technologies to purchase GPUs and related hardware. The equipment will be deployed in phases through 2026 at the IREN complex in Childress, Texas, which has a capacity of 750 MW. In parallel, new data centers with liquid cooling will be built, supporting 200 MW of IT load.
The market reaction was clear – the company’s shares gained almost 30% on Monday morning, reaching the level of USD 74.51. This is an impressive jump, especially since the shares have gone up 489% since the beginning of the year.
From crypto mining to AI support – a new trend in the industry
The IREN story is a fascinating example of business agility. While the ASIC chips used to mine Bitcoin are useless for AI applications, mining companies have something equally valuable: access to massive energy capacity, physical data center infrastructure, and operational know-how. In the era of artificial intelligence boom, this is gold.
Analysts from Bernstein estimate that IREN’s AI cloud business could generate USD 500 million in annual revenues by early 2026. In September, they raised their price target on the stock to $75 – a level that has now been reached.
We build state-of-the-art AI infrastructure for our clients
– said Jonathan Tinter, president of Microsoft business development.
IREN is not alone in this transformation – other mining companies are also reorienting to GPU hosting. Who will be next to make an AI-related megadeal?
