Okay, so IREN, this bitcoin mining company that suddenly pivoted to AI, just landed a $9.7 BILLION deal with Microsoft. Nine. Point. Freaking. Billion. Dollars. To provide GPU cloud services. Am I the only one who thinks this smells a little…off?
The stock jumped nearly 30% on the news. Of course it did. Any mention of "AI" these days and the market goes bonkers. It's like attaching a rocket to a brick. Doesn't mean the brick can fly, just means it's going to burn a lot of fuel. And let's be real, IREN's year-to-date gain of almost 500%? That's not sustainable. It's pure, unadulterated hype.
Bernstein analysts are saying IREN could pull in $500 million in annual revenue by early 2026. Okay, if they can actually deliver. If the GPUs are up to snuff. If Microsoft doesn't find a better deal somewhere else. That's a lot of "ifs" for a company that was mining Bitcoin last week.
And this supposed $5.8 billion deal with Dell for more GPUs? How exactly are they paying for all this? "Existing cash, customer prepayments, operating cash flow, and additional funding sources." Translation: they're probably going to dilute the hell out of their stock.
IREN is building out this massive 750MW campus in Texas, with liquid-cooled data centers. Liquid cooling! Sounds fancy, right? It's expensive. And power-hungry. We're talking about a company that made its name burning insane amounts of electricity to solve pointless math problems, and now they’re going to burn even MORE electricity to…do AI stuff?
Daniel Roberts, IREN's co-founder, calls it a "milestone partnership" that "validates IREN's position." Right. Because every company that signs a deal with Microsoft is automatically a genius. Give me a break.
Jonathan Tinter from Microsoft says IREN's "expertise in building and operating a fully integrated AI cloud" makes them a "strategic partner." Expertise? They mined Bitcoin! What expertise are we talking about here, exactly? I'm not buying it. Not one bit.
Look, I get it. Bitcoin mining ain't what it used to be. The halving is coming, the regulations are tightening, and the profits are shrinking. These companies are desperate to find something—anything—to stay relevant. But this whole "AI pivot" thing feels…forced.
It's like watching a washed-up rock band try to become a K-pop sensation. Sure, they might get a few headlines, but are they actually good at it? Are they passionate about it? Or are they just chasing the next big thing?
And honestly, what happens when the AI bubble bursts? What happens when everyone realizes that AI isn't magic, and that it requires massive amounts of data, talent, and, you know, actual expertise? Will IREN go crawling back to Bitcoin mining? Or will they find some other shiny object to chase?
Then again, maybe I'm being too harsh. Maybe IREN really is the next big thing in AI. Maybe they'll revolutionize the industry and make us all look like a bunch of Luddites. But something tells me this is just another case of a company trying to ride the hype wave all the way to the bank. And I'm not sure it's going to work.
I'm calling it now: this whole thing is gonna end in tears. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next year, but eventually, the market is going to realize that IREN is just a Bitcoin miner in a cheap AI costume. And when that happens, watch out below.
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