• Iris Energy announced plans to increase its hash rate capacity by 63%, from 5.5 EH/s to 9.1 EH/s by the beginning of 2024.
• The company is nearing completion of phase 1 of its 600MW plant in Childress, Texas, which includes construction of 80MW of data center space.
• The announcement caused IREN’s stock price to rise 21.1% on the day and increase 247% YTD.
Iris Energy’s Hash Rate Boost Plans
Iris Energy (IREN), a Bitcoin mining company listed on the NASDAQ, recently announced that it intends to increase its hash rate capacity by 63%, from 5.5 EH/s to 9.1 EH/s by the beginning of 2024. This news caused IREN’s stock price to surge 21.1% on the day and bring YTD gains to 247%.
Data Center Construction
The business also stated that its short-term focus remains on data center construction with “flexibility on timing for miner purchases” based upon available finance and current market circumstances. Iris is nearing completion of phase 1 of its 600MW plant in Childress, Texas, which includes construction of 80MW of data center space.
Legal Tussle
In November 2020, Iris had to cut capacity by 3.6 EH/s as it was serving as security for $103 million in loans; however, there is now reportedly a legal tussle between Iris and the loan provider as they look at legal options regarding repayment matters. Last week during a hearing before the Supreme Court of British Columbia, it was requested that any further Bitcoin mining revenues made by Iris be used as collateral to safeguard its lending facilities .
Phase 2 Buildout On Hold
Currently Phase 2 buildout is on hold while awaiting “additional long-lead items” estimated to unleash 13.6 EH/s1 of data center capacity when complete.. Additionally, Iris is exploring expanding into “energy intensive compute applications” such as AI due to their access to inexpensive renewable energy sources and massive data centers capacities already built out or in progress .
Conclusion
Overall this announcement has been well received within both investor circles and crypto circles alike; with investors feeling confident in the future prospects for IRIS after their ambitious expansion plans have been laid out clearly for all stakeholders involved!