Finance

IREN’s $9.7B Microsoft Deal: How Bitcoin Miners Are Cashing In on the AI Boom

Bernstein upgraded IREN to “outperform” after its $9.7B deal with Microsoft for AI computing.

November 4, 2025, 4:42 PM

The logo of IREN, an energy and utilities provider, displayed on both a smartphone and a computer screen. By Tigarto / Shutterstock.com.

Executive Summary

Bernstein upgraded IREN’s rating to “outperform” and increased its price target to $125, following IREN’s $9.7 billion cloud services agreement with Microsoft to provide access to Nvidia GB300 GPUs.

Bitcoin miners are strategically pivoting their substantial computing infrastructure to capitalize on the burgeoning artificial intelligence industry, leveraging existing assets like captive power.

This trend is supported by other major partnerships, including Cipher Mining’s deals with Amazon Web Services and Fluidstack (backed by Google), and Google’s increased investment in Terawulf.

The Story So Far

Bitcoin miners are strategically pivoting to the artificial intelligence industry, leveraging their substantial existing computing infrastructure and access to captive power to meet the escalating demand for AI workloads. This shift allows them to diversify revenue streams beyond traditional Bitcoin mining, especially amidst market volatility, despite the higher energy demands associated with AI operations.

Why This Matters

The strategic pivot of Bitcoin miners like IREN into AI data center services, exemplified by significant deals with tech giants such as Microsoft, marks a transformative shift for the industry. This move allows miners to leverage their existing computing infrastructure and captive power sources to meet the escalating demand for AI workloads, thereby diversifying revenue streams beyond volatile cryptocurrency mining and establishing a crucial role in supporting the broader AI ecosystem.

Who Thinks What?

Bernstein analysts view IREN’s agreement with Microsoft as a key indicator of how cryptocurrency miners can capitalize on the burgeoning artificial intelligence industry, emphasizing their competitive advantage in power access and upgrading IREN’s rating to “outperform.”

Bitcoin mining specialists, including IREN, Cipher Mining, and Terawulf, are strategically pivoting to diversify their revenue streams beyond traditional Bitcoin mining by forging significant partnerships with major tech companies to leverage their computing infrastructure for AI workloads.

Industry experts acknowledge that while the shift to AI presents opportunities for Bitcoin miners, it also comes with significant challenges due to the considerably higher energy demands of AI operations compared to Bitcoin mining.

Global investment firm Bernstein has upgraded its rating for AI computing company IREN to “outperform” and increased its price target to $125 from $75. This adjustment follows IREN’s recent announcement of a $9.7 billion cloud services agreement with Microsoft, which will see the Bitcoin miner and data center company provide access to Nvidia’s GB300 GPUs over five years. IREN’s shares saw an approximate 2% increase in Tuesday trading, following an earlier 6% surge.

Bitcoin Miners Pivot to AI

Bernstein analysts highlighted the Microsoft deal as a key indicator of how cryptocurrency miners can capitalize on the burgeoning artificial intelligence industry. They emphasized IREN’s competitive advantage stemming from its access to captive power, which is crucial in a power-constrained world.

The IREN-Microsoft collaboration is part of a broader trend where Bitcoin mining specialists are forging significant partnerships with major tech companies. These deals leverage the substantial computing infrastructure initially built for Bitcoin mining to meet the escalating demand for AI workloads.

Increasing Tech Partnerships

This trend includes other notable agreements, such as Bitcoin miner Cipher Mining’s $5.5 billion, 15-year lease agreement with Amazon Web Services for AI workloads. Cipher also secured a 10-year, roughly $3 billion high-performance computing colocation agreement with Fluidstack, backed by Google.

Additionally, Google increased its investment in Bitcoin miner Terawulf in August, providing a $1.4 billion backstop to support project-related debt financing, bringing its total stake to $3.2 billion. These partnerships underscore a strategic pivot by miners to diversify revenue streams beyond traditional Bitcoin mining.

Challenges and Market Context

While the shift to AI presents opportunities, industry experts note that it also comes with challenges. The energy demands of AI operations are considerably higher than those for Bitcoin mining, requiring careful navigation and expertise from miners.

In the broader market, Bitcoin was trading at approximately $101,320, reflecting a 5.8% decline over the past 24 hours and an 11% drop over the last week. This market volatility provides additional impetus for miners to explore new avenues for profitability.

Outlook on AI Integration

The strategic move by Bitcoin miners into AI data centers indicates a recognition of long-term trends in compute power demand. Industry leaders are actively seeking to maximize the yield on their existing power infrastructure by catering to AI’s growing needs, despite the complexities involved in such a transition.