Bitcoin miner IREN has completed its acquisition of Spanish data center developer Nostrum Group, kicking off its entry into Europe as the company’s AI-powered cloud business expands.
IREN he said Monday’s press release said the acquisition would provide approximately 490 megawatts of secured grid-connected power in Spain, along with a development plan and the employment of more than 50 employees across engineering, construction, development and operations.
The transaction expands IREN’s global capacity portfolio to around 5 gigawatts, with Spanish capacity accounting for around 10% of the total.
IREN co-founder and co-founder Daniel Roberts said Spain offers a combination of renewable energy and fiber connectivity, giving the company a base to support Europe’s growing demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure.
“Europe is one of the largest and fastest-growing markets for AI infrastructure, and Spain is one of the most attractive entry points into the market,” Roberts said.
The acquisition is part of IREN’s commitment to AI cloud services that can deliver more predictable contract-based revenues as rising mining difficulties and volatile Bitcoin (BTC) prices put pressure on the economics of cryptocurrency mining.
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The move also fits into a broader trend among Bitcoin miners building artificial intelligence infrastructure in Europe. HIVE Digital was conversion part of its artificial intelligence processing facility in Sweden, while Bitdeer is developing AI data center capacity in Norway.
IREN accelerates the AI cloud transition
According to IREN results in the quarter ended March 31, Bitcoin mining remained the largest source of revenue. The company reported mining revenues of $111.2 million, compared with $33.6 million from AI cloud services.
IREN said AI cloud revenue increased from $17.3 million in the previous quarter, while bitcoin mining revenue dropped from $167.4 million. The company attributed the decline in mining in part to lower average BTC prices and the retirement of mining equipment.
Bitcoin chart since the beginning of the year. Source: CoinGecko
Analysts at Bernstein have previously said that IREN may eventually phase out most of its bitcoin mining operations as it modernizes existing locations for AI cloud infrastructure. IREN said it had installed or ordered about 150,000 GPUs as of March 31, which it said could generate annual revenue of $3.7 billion.
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