IREN raised $3 billion for AI infrastructure development - ForkLog: cryptocurrencies, AI, singularity, the future

# IREN raised $3 billion for AI infrastructure development

Bitcoin miner and data center operator IREN completed a placement of convertible senior bonds totaling $3 billion

The initial offering size was $2.6 billion, but investors fully exercised the option for additional securities worth $400 million

The company’s net proceeds after fees are $2.96 billion.

The bonds have a 1% annual coupon rate and maturity until 2033. The conversion premium is set at 32.5%. The instrument was sold privately to institutional investors.

Part of the proceeds—about $201 million—was allocated to “limited call” transactions. This is a hedging mechanism designed to protect shareholders from dilution of their stakes during bond conversion into shares

The remaining funds will go toward working capital and general corporate purposes.

IREN is developing infrastructure for cloud computing and artificial intelligence. The company owns data centers and a GPU fleet in North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region.

Miners are shifting to AI

According to TheEnergyMag, the total Bitcoin network hash rate in the first quarter decreased from 985 EH/s to 873 EH/s. The decline in activity is linked to the major mining companies redirecting their focus to AI infrastructure and high-performance computing (HPC).

The largest decreases were recorded by IREN (from 42.96 EH/s to 35.83 EH/s) and Keel Infrastructure (from 16.52 EH/s to 11.51 EH/s). Cipher Digital has completely halted mining at the Black Pearl facility to reconfigure it for AI needs.

Core Scientific also confirmed plans to scale back mining operations. By the end of the year, the company will have no more than two cryptocurrency mining sites. In the first quarter, Core Scientific wrote off assets totaling $266.5 million, more than half of which was equipment for mining.

Some players took advantage of the situation to expand their market share. Riot Platforms increased its hash rate to 42.29 EH/s, and Bitdeer to 50.26 EH/s. American Bitcoin boosted its capacity to 28.1 EH/s, using Bitcoin collateral instead of cash to purchase new devices.

While miners previously shut down devices due to falling prices or expensive electricity, now they are abandoning Bitcoin mining in favor of AI because of more stable profitability and financing conditions. Data centers reconfigured for graphics processors are unlikely to return to mining in the near future, according to TheEnergyMag.

As a reminder, in the first quarter, TeraWulf generated $34 million in revenue, with approximately $21 million coming from HPC services.