Iris Energy Ltd (IREN), a bitcoin mining company, soared 7.39% in pre-market trading on Thursday, fueled by a confluence of positive factors.
Firstly, the Australia-based miner announced the pricing of its upsized $400 million convertible note offering, with proceeds earmarked to fund expansion plans, including ramping up its installed self-mining capacity to 50 EH/s and 810 megawatts of data centers by the first half of 2025. The successful fundraising provided a significant boost to the company's growth prospects.
Additionally, the surge was amplified by the rally in bitcoin prices, which climbed above $99,000 on Wednesday, buoyed by comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell likening the cryptocurrency to digital gold, and news of President-elect Donald Trump's crypto-friendly nominee to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission. The favorable regulatory outlook and renewed investor confidence in bitcoin fueled a broader rally in crypto stocks like Iris Energy.