New York, Jan 10, 2026, 19:31 EST — Market closed
IREN Limited shares ended Friday up 0.7% at $46.03 after a volatile session. Traders are heading into Monday buoyed by a bullish note from Bernstein. Analyst Gautam Chhugani called IREN “our top AI pick” for 2026 and advised investors to “start 2026 by buying stocks on the dip,” also suggesting bitcoin has “bottomed,” according to TipRanks. 1
Why it matters now: IREN is a high-beta stock, often moving in step with crypto sentiment and the AI infrastructure sector, so it reacts sharply to changes in rate expectations. The next major macro hurdle arrives with the U.S. consumer price index for December, due Jan. 13 at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Federal Reserve’s following policy meeting is scheduled for Jan. 27-28. 2
Bitcoin hovered near $90,473, keeping crypto-linked stocks locked in a narrow band heading into the weekend. Among U.S.-listed miners on Friday, Marathon Digital dropped 2.0%, CleanSpark lost 3.1%, but Riot Platforms edged up 1.3% and Core Scientific climbed 2.5%.
IREN occupies a unique niche. While it continues bitcoin mining, the company has also repositioned itself as a data-center operator offering AI compute services—renting out powerful GPUs and power capacity to clients needing rapid access to the hardware behind AI training and inference.
But this shift carries its own execution risks. Back in November, Microsoft inked a five-year cloud services contract with IREN worth roughly $9.7 billion, linked to access to Nvidia’s cutting-edge chips. IREN also revealed a $5.8 billion deal with Dell for chips and hardware. Any delays, financing issues, or missed deliveries could throw a wrench in this expansion. 3
In the short run, the tape will probably keep viewing IREN as a leveraged stand-in for two shifting variables: bitcoin’s price and demand for AI infrastructure. That means even slight changes in either can trigger sharp swings in the stock.
A cooler inflation report tends to boost stocks like this by driving yields lower and easing financial conditions. When inflation runs hotter, it usually hits the most crowded risk trades hardest, and miners often get swept up in the fallout.
Company-specific news is sparse as the week begins, leaving the stock vulnerable to swings in bitcoin’s weekend moves and broader rate-driven market shifts. Fresh contract announcements, financing updates, or SEC filings related to the AI expansion could trigger sharp moves once liquidity returns.
Competitive pressure is another factor. Rival miners and hosting firms are scrambling to rebrand themselves as power-and-data-center platforms. This pivot can boost the sector when investors buy into the narrative — but it can just as easily backfire if they don’t.
Tuesday brings the U.S. CPI report at 8:30 a.m. ET, a key data point that could steer rates and risk appetite for the week ahead. All eyes will be on this ahead of the Fed’s January 27-28 meeting, the next big event on the calendar.
