New York, Jan 12, 2026, 17:41 EST — After-hours
- IREN shares surged Monday, leaving other crypto-linked miners behind.
- Bitcoin hovered near $91,000 as investors awaited crucial U.S. inflation figures.
- Traders are turning their attention to Tuesday’s CPI report and the upcoming IREN earnings update.
IREN Limited (IREN) shares climbed 9.3% Monday, holding close to a 9% gain after hours. Bitcoin stayed near $91,216. Meanwhile, Marathon Digital, Riot Platforms, and CleanSpark gained between 2.9% and 7.4%. IREN’s stock fluctuated between $45.85 and $51.62 on about 53 million shares traded.
This shift is significant since IREN straddles two hot trades: bitcoin mining and leased AI computing power. As a result, the stock tends to twitch sharply with bitcoin’s swings or whenever worries about interest rates resurface.
The story around “miners” is shifting fast. Investors are moving away from viewing IREN as just a crypto proxy, instead pricing it more like an AI infrastructure supplier. That shift has attracted fresh buyers, even as the stock remains volatile on macro news.
Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani named IREN “our top AI pick” for 2026, recommending investors “start 2026 by buying stocks on the dip,” according to TipRanks. In the same note, Chhugani suggested crypto markets “have bottomed” and presented a bullish case for bitcoin. 1
IREN is expanding its AI cloud infrastructure efforts alongside its mining operations. In November, Microsoft inked a $9.7 billion, five-year agreement with IREN, which includes access to Nvidia GB300 GPUs—chips heavily used for AI workloads—and hardware supplied by Dell. Reuters noted the contract may be canceled if IREN fails to meet delivery deadlines. 2
The next big macro check is Tuesday’s U.S. CPI, a crucial inflation gauge. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will drop the December 2025 CPI data on Jan. 13 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. 3
Rate expectations are rattled. Big banks such as Barclays and Goldman Sachs have pushed back their forecasts for Federal Reserve rate cuts following recent U.S. data, Reuters reported — a move that could jolt volatile sectors like crypto-linked stocks. 4
The downside is clear: a stronger CPI reading can push Treasury yields higher and weigh on high-growth stocks. Bitcoin dips usually hit miners hardest. On the AI front, investors are watching closely to see if promised capacity arrives on time and meets the incremental targets management has hinted at.
After CPI, earnings are the next major event to watch. Nasdaq’s earnings calendar projects IREN to report near Feb. 11, but that date is algorithm-driven and subject to change. 5
