Iren’s Little Flutter

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One gathers Iren (IREN +5.13%), formerly preoccupied with the rather vulgar business of Bitcoin mining, experienced a minor rally on Friday, closing at $41.83. A 5.13% uptick, you understand, hardly constitutes a triumph, especially considering the earlier palpitations. Investors, it seems, are endlessly fickle. They briefly forgot the Q2 disappointments, only to remember them again, naturally. The pivot to AI data centers is proving… problematic. One suspects they’re waiting for something – anything – to actually happen. A cloud expansion backed by Microsoft, and a power build-out? Dreadfully ambitious, darling, and ambition rarely pays.

Trading volume, a rather vulgar metric, reached 74.3 million shares. A good deal more than usual, I’m told. One assumes someone was having a bit of a flutter. Iren, having emerged in 2021, has managed a 71% climb since its debut. A respectable showing, perhaps, if one isn’t overly concerned with the current downward trend.

How the Markets Deigned to Move Today

The S&P 500 (^GSPC +1.97%) added 1.97%, finishing at 6,932. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC +2.18%) climbed 2.18% to 23,031. Quite. Within the cryptocurrency mining circles – a rather desperate bunch, if you ask me – Mara Holdings (MARA +22.44%) closed at $8.24, and Riot Platforms (RIOT +19.65%) finished at $14.45. Traders, apparently, are feeling… optimistic about these high-beta miners. One shudders to think why.

What This Means for Investors (If They’re Listening)

Iren, despite its little bounce, still ended the week 22% below its previous Friday’s closing price. Analysts, those tiresome creatures, are murmuring about the lack of further AI deals. Apparently, turning oneself from a Bitcoin enthusiast to an AI cloud provider requires… well, actual AI deals. Who knew?

The news that 95% of the financing for its Microsoft (MSFT +2.00%) contract is secured failed to excite. A $1.9 billion prepayment from Microsoft, one gathers, isn’t quite the panacea it’s cracked up to be. One begins to suspect the market is not easily impressed.

The absence of new AI contracts suggests a slowdown in the AI cloud ramp-up. Combine that with the inherent execution risks, and one can hardly blame investors for being… cautious. It’s all terribly predictable, really. One wonders if anyone remembers the golden rule: Hope for the best, but expect the worst. It saves a lot of bother.

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2026-02-07 02:02