IREN’s High-Stakes Pivot Draws Record Options Bet as $3 Billion Bond Backs AI Infrastructure

IREN sees massive options volume as it pivots from bitcoin mining to AI cloud, with $3B bond raise and ambitious 2026 infrastructure targets.

The options market lit up around IREN on Thursday, with 357,240 contracts changing hands in a single session — a level of activity that typically signals big directional conviction. Calls made up nearly 67% of the volume, pushing open interest to 2.09 million contracts, more than 5% above the 30-day average. Among the standout trades was a block of 4,900 put contracts expiring May 29 at a $51 strike, while the stock itself closed at $53.69, just shy of its intraday high. The surge in derivatives activity reflects a market wrestling with IREN’s dramatic transformation from bitcoin miner to AI cloud provider — a narrative that has attracted both ardent bulls and cautious skeptics.

The company has been on an acquisition tear to bolster its new identity. On May 18, IREN bought Awaken, the creative agency that had handled its marketing externally, folding the team in-house. Awaken’s former CEO, Chris Parker, now leads global brand strategy for IREN. The move is part of a larger push to build a globally recognizable brand as the company expands across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. That effort is running in parallel with a $3 billion convertible bond due in 2033, the proceeds of which are earmarked for general corporate purposes and working capital. The bond placement initially stirred dilution fears — the stock had been subdued — but it recovered 9.5% over the following seven days.

IREN’s infrastructure ambitions are nothing if not audacious. The company holds 5 gigawatts of secured power capacity and aims to have 480 megawatts of AI cloud capacity live by the end of 2026, powered by 150,000 GPUs. The target: an annualized revenue run rate of roughly $3.7 billion. That goal will be the first real test of whether the pivot can generate the margins to match the vision. In the trailing twelve months, IREN posted revenue of $757 million, but the last quarter contracted 21.6% as it retired old mining hardware. The operating margin stands at a deeply negative 45.8%, underscoring the cost of the transition.

At current levels, the stock trades at €50.08 (approximately $53.69), having surged more than 500% over the past twelve months. Still, it sits about 25% below its 52-week high of €66.51. The relative strength index reads 47.6, squarely in neutral territory. Annualized volatility remains extreme at 126%. Wall Street is sharply divided: BTIG rates IREN a buy with an $80 target, Macquarie sees $90, while JP Morgan assigns an underweight rating with a price target of just $46 — a gap that underscores the uncertainty around execution.

The options frenzy and the bond raise are two sides of the same coin. Investors are betting on one of the most aggressive infrastructure build-outs in the AI cloud space, yet the financial reality — shrinking quarterly revenue, negative margins, and heavy capital needs — leaves little room for missteps. IREN’s $3.7 billion ARR target by year-end is an enormous leap from current revenue, and the market is watching closely to see whether the infrastructure expansion can translate into actual profitability. For now, the trade is all about conviction in the pivot, with the options data showing exactly where that conviction is concentrated.