Bitcoin miner IREN has finalized its acquisition of Spanish data center developer Nostrum Group, a step the company says accelerates its shift toward AI cloud services while expanding its presence in Europe.
In a press release issued Monday, IREN said the purchase brings roughly 490 megawatts of secured, grid-connected power in Spain, along with a development pipeline and a workforce of more than 50 employees spanning engineering, construction, development and operations. The deal also lifts IREN’s global secured power portfolio to about 5 gigawatts, with Spain accounting for around 10% of the total.
Key takeaways
- IREN’s acquisition of Nostrum Group adds about 490 MW of secured, grid-connected power in Spain and expands its European footprint for AI infrastructure.
- The company frames the move as part of a broader AI cloud pivot aimed at creating more contract-based revenue than crypto mining can deliver during volatile cycles.
- IREN’s quarterly financials show AI cloud revenue growing while Bitcoin mining revenue declined, reinforcing the strategy’s direction.
- The expansion places IREN alongside other Bitcoin miners investing in AI-related computing capacity in Europe, including HIVE Digital and Bitdeer.
A new foothold for AI infrastructure in Europe
IREN co-founder and co-CEO Daniel Roberts highlighted Spain’s mix of renewable generation and fiber connectivity, describing the country as a practical entry point to support growing European demand for AI computing and related infrastructure.
“Europe is one of the largest and fastest-growing markets for AI infrastructure, and Spain is among its most compelling entry points,” Roberts said in the company statement.
For investors, the key implication is that the Nostrum acquisition is not just about adding facilities—it is about adding grid-connected capacity that can be planned for AI workloads. In data-center economics, power availability and reliability often determine how quickly operators can scale compute demand, particularly when AI deployments require sustained electricity consumption.
Why IREN is moving beyond mining economics
IREN’s stated rationale ties the expansion to the company’s AI cloud strategy. As Bitcoin mining difficulty rises and Bitcoin price volatility continues to pressure mining margins, IREN argues that AI cloud offerings can provide more predictable, contract-based revenue.
The tension at the center of that argument is straightforward: mining remains IREN’s largest revenue contributor, but the company is clearly investing to reduce dependence over time.
That shift is visible in IREN’s reporting. According to the company’s results for the quarter ended March 31, Bitcoin mining remained its top source of revenue. However, AI cloud was already meaningful and growing faster than mining. IREN reported $111.2 million in mining revenue, versus $33.6 million from AI cloud services.
Quarterly results underscore the pivot
IREN said AI cloud revenue increased to $33.6 million in the quarter, up from $17.3 million in the prior quarter. Over the same comparison, Bitcoin mining revenue fell from $167.4 million. The company attributed the mining decline partly to lower average BTC prices and to the decommissioning of mining hardware.
Put differently, the gap between the two business lines is widening: AI cloud revenue is rising quarter over quarter, while mining is facing headwinds tied to market conditions and asset configuration changes.
IREN also disclosed that it had about 150,000 GPUs installed or on order as of March 31. In earlier reporting, Bernstein analysts suggested IREN could ultimately reduce much of its Bitcoin mining business as it retrofits existing sites for AI cloud infrastructure. Bernstein estimated that the company’s GPU footprint could support a $3.7 billion annual revenue run rate, based on their assumptions.
Part of a broader miner-to-AI infrastructure trend
IREN’s move aligns with a broader pattern among Bitcoin miners seeking to diversify into AI and high-performance computing. The acquisition comes as other players increase exposure to AI-related infrastructure in Europe.
HIVE Digital, for example, has been converting part of its facility in Sweden for AI computing, according to a Nasdaq press release. Bitdeer has also been developing AI data center capacity in Norway, based on its investor communications.
While these efforts differ in execution and scale, they reflect a common calculation: miners already control or procure power and compute-facing infrastructure, which can be repurposed for AI workloads. That said, the market still has to prove demand and pricing power. Even with secured electricity, AI cloud profitability depends on customer commitments, utilization rates, and the cost of deploying and operating large-scale GPU systems.
Next, readers should watch whether IREN’s AI cloud revenue continues its quarter-over-quarter growth as more capacity is integrated, and whether the company can convert its GPU pipeline into sustained contracted demand—especially as Bitcoin mining remains exposed to price swings and hardware lifecycle decisions.
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