Bitcoin miner to AI landlord: Microsoft signs $9.7B deal with BTC miner IREN

Microsoft has entered into a five-year, $9.7 billion cloud services contract with Bitcoin miner IREN, alongside a $5.8 billion equipment deal with Dell for Nvidia GPUs. This strategic pivot converts approximately 200 megawatts of IREN's planned Bitcoin mining capacity at its Texas campus into contracted GPU hosting for Microsoft's AI workloads, with IREN planning to scale this AI capacity to 200 megawatts by late 2026. The economic driver is significant: AI hosting generates roughly $500,000 to $650,000 more in annual gross revenue per megawatt than current Bitcoin mining economics, creating an 80% uplift. Microsoft provided a $1.9 billion prepayment, signaling urgency due to capacity constraints expected through mid-2026. The location in Texas (ERCOT grid) offers competitive power costs and flexibility for ancillary services, making the conversion faster and cheaper than building new data centers. This trend of miners reallocating capacity to AI hosting de-links their cash flow from volatile Bitcoin prices, easing treasury pressure and potentially reducing structural sell pressure on the Bitcoin market.

(Source：CryptoSlate)