Data company sets its eyes on the new sector — and it could cause significant change in investment patterns
Formerly known as Iris Energy, the Sydney-based company was founded in 2018 and operates renewable energy-powered data centers in Canada and the United States.
"Our facilities are optimized for Bitcoin mining, AI cloud services and other power-dense compute," the company states, boasting its 100% renewable credentials.
In January, IREN announced a 1,400-megawatt facility in Sweetwater in West Texas, expected to come online in April 2026. It already has a 750-megawatt operation in Childress County, which is about 150 north and 250 miles northwest of Dallas, that is partly functional and still under construction.
The 420-acre Childress site showcases the crypto industry's goal for the future of digital currencies. It is located in a wind and solar power hotbed, where the cost of energy is cheap. IREN says the region has 37 gigawatts of renewable energy but can transmit only about 12 because of infrastructure limitations.
"This constraint currently results in wind and solar farms often being curtailed (or temporarily turned-off) at times of high renewable energy generation due to a lack of local load," according to the company.
The presence of the data center, however, means that excess energy produced on particularly windy or sunny days can be used rather than wasted. When the intermittent renewable energy supply is low, on the other hand, it can similarly reduce its consumption, balancing the grid and protecting against threats such as extreme weather-caused blackouts.
It's a working example of a green tech dream, as bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have long been criticized for their energy demands, which reportedly match those of small countries. Crypto miners also consume vast quantities of water to cool their equipment and produce e-waste as they upgrade tools.
Using clean energy instead of dirty energy reduces the emission of heat-trapping gases that pollute the atmosphere and contribute to the climate crisis, which is harming humanity, wildlife, and the planet.
Do you think electric vehicles are efficient enough to replace gas cars?
Totally
Definitely not
They're almost there
They need a lot more work
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.
IREN is betting that its practices will not only mitigate these problems but also usher in a new era of sustainable, profitable investment. It hopes to push other cryptocurrencies as well as other industries toward renewables, which would help expand clean infrastructure via increased demand, and to spur economic growth and social responsibility by meeting the needs of communities underserved by traditional finance.
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
MARA Holdings (MARA) Slashes 11.6% Amid New $1-Billion Debt Offer
We recently published . MARA Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) is one of the worst performers on Wednesday. MARA Holdings fell by 11.62 percent on Wednesday to close at $17.57 apiece as investor sentiment was dampened by plans to raise $1 billion through debt to finance the acquisition of more Bitcoins. In a statement, MARA Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) said that it intends to offer $850 million worth of convertible senior notes due 2032, with an overallotment option of up to $150 million. The notes will be unsecured, senior obligations and are not expected to bear regular interest other than special interests in limited circumstances. The notes will mature on August 1, 2032, unless earlier repurchased, redeemed, or converted in accordance with the terms. Subject to certain conditions, on or after January 15, 2030, MARA Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) said it may redeem for cash all or any portion of the notes. MARA Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) said it intends to use $50 million of the net proceeds to repurchase a portion of its existing 1 percent convertible senior notes due 2026, while the balance will be used to acquire additional bitcoin and for general corporate purposes. While we acknowledge the potential of MARA as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the . Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
XRP, DOGE, SOL Lead Crypto Selloff, But Altcoin Season Still in Play if This Happens
While bitcoin (BTC) slid only modestly, other major cryptocurrencies tumbled over the past few days, sparking doubt of the durability of the so-called altcoin season. XRP (XRP), dogecoin (DOGE) and Solana's SOL (SOL) declined the most among the top 10 cryptos on Friday, slipping around 5% each over the past 24 hours, CoinDesk data shows. From the Wednesday highs, XRP and DOGE plunged around 18%, while SOL was down 12% over the same stretch. The CoinDesk 80 Index, consisting of mid-cap tokens outside of the CoinDesk 20, lost 10% from the weekly peak. Meanwhile, BTC was changing hands around $116,000, a bit more than 3% lower from its mid-week peak of $120,000. Ethereum's ether (ETH) was 4% below its weekly high, supported by steady accumulation by crypto treasury strategy firms. When altcoin season? The sharp sell-off of the past few days came after weeks heavy capital rotation into smaller tokens, fueling talks of a full-blown altcoin season. That period, sometimes dubbed alt season, occurs when riskier, smaller tokens outperform bitcoin, the leading crypto, for a sustained period. CoinGlass' Alcoin Season Index, which measures the altcoin market's outperformance versus BTC on a scale of 0 to 100, cooled off to 41 on Friday from Monday's 59, the strongest reading since the late January speculative frenzy around President Trump's inauguration. Still, the total altcoin market (except stablecoins) saw a rapid appreciation, nearly doubling in value since April, David Duong, head of research at Coinbase, said in a Friday report. For this week's pullback, traders taking on excessive leverage on altcoin bets were to blame, the report pointed out. The Altcoin Open-Interest Dominance metric, which compares the amount of dollars tied up in altcoin derivatives contracts to bitcoin's, soared to 1.6, a level that has preceded previous market shake-outs, the report noted. A decrease in the ratio would suggest a healthy leverage reset for the altcoin market, otherwise more shakeouts are expected, Duong wrote. For an extended altcoin season, investors should keep an eye on the Bitcoin Dominance, which measures BTC's share of the total crypto market capitalization. The metric has broken below the 200-day moving average for the first time since a brief period in January 2025, the report noted. "A sustained move under the 200-DMA could validate the 'alt season' narrative and have historically preceded multi-week stretches of altcoin outperformance (like in 2021)," Duong wrote. However, traders might be better off waiting for more consecutive sessions closing below the level before piling into altcoin bets for a more "prudent positioning," he added.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Red Light Holland teams up with Arch Public for Bitcoin Strategy
Red Light Holland teams up with Arch Public for Bitcoin Strategy originally appeared on TheStreet. Red Light Holland, a Canadian company that produces functional mushrooms and psilocybin truffles, has selected Arch Public Inc. as its primary partner to assist in managing its Bitcoin investment strategy. The decision comes after Red Light Holland announced it will invest up to C$2 million in Bitcoin and other digital assets. As part of this goal, the business has already put C$210,000 into a Bitcoin ETF. On July 15, the firm took on Scott Melker, a renowned crypto Key Opinion Leader, as its Bitcoin Light Holland added Bitcoin to its balance sheet since it was having trouble with its banking because of its work in the psychedelics industry. The firm viewed Bitcoin as a means to achieve financial independence after being debanked, despite operating a legal and functional mushroom farm. "So we were debanked as we were proceeding with, ironically, just a regular mushroom farm, not even the psychedelic mushroom farms," said Todd Shapiro, CEO of Red Light Holland Corp, in an interview. Arch Public will facilitate the buying of Bitcoin through automated trading strategies (algorithms). Their approach involves buying Bitcoin on dips and protecting the investment from loss, as all assets won't be sold for less than the original cost. It supports dollar-cost averaging strategies, adjustable monthly allocations, and flexible plans to streamline the creation of an innovative, behavior-based Bitcoin portfolio. "We are excited to partner with Red Light Holland to support their Bitcoin Balance Sheet strategy. Our algorithms remove emotional biases, allowing companies like Red Light Holland to accumulate intelligently, safely, and reconcile instantly while not being distracted from their core day-to-day business," said Tillman Holloway, Co-founder and CEO of Arch Public. The partnership shows that Red Light Holland wants to combine decentralized finance with its larger goal of making new things in wellness and psychedelics. Red Light Holland teams up with Arch Public for Bitcoin Strategy first appeared on TheStreet on Jul 25, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jul 25, 2025, where it first appeared. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data