In the communication " Miner Weekly " released on October 8th, BlocksBridge Consulting stated that as Bitcoin mining companies seek funds to fulfill large-scale artificial intelligence and high-performance computing contracts, lending institutions have become more selective when financing data centers.
The consulting firm stated that obtaining the AI client only solved part of their financing difficulties. The operators still need funds to purchase computing equipment, build facilities, and install the electrical infrastructure required to provide contractual services.
BlocksBridge represents:Larger loan institutions are becoming more selective in their data center loan decisions, with choices increasingly dependent on clients, contracts, and the project completion path."..."
The borrowing costs of Bitcoin mining companies AI depend on the terms of the project.
Regarding IREN, the communication mentioned that the company announced a $3.65 billion GPU financing on June 1st, which was used to support its cloud contract with Microsoft. BlocksBridge estimated the comprehensive debt cost of this financing to be 6%.
According to the report, IREN disclosed another financing arrangement of $2.4 billion in its August earnings, with a fixed interest rate of 9%. This financing supports the company's air-cooling expansion project in Mackenzie.
Although the interest rate spread between the two reaches 3 percentage points, BlocksBridge reminds not to directly consider these two transactions as an increase in the borrowing cost of IREN. The two agreements support different projects, and the risk exposures undertaken are also different.
The consulting firm also distinguished between equipment financing and financing for the entire development project. The report states that a financing arrangement covering most of the GPU purchases does not automatically cover costs for construction, power infrastructure, unexpected construction expenses, and working capital.
In addition to the borrowing arrangements, IREN continued to increase customer commitments during the summer. As reported by crypto.news on July 20th, the company added new multi-year AI cloud contracts worth $2.8 billion and raised its annualized revenue target for the end of the year from $3.7 billion to over $4 billion.
In that announcement, IREN indicated that approximately 85% of the targets had been contracted after the revision. The company also disclosed that among the GPU capital expenditures related to recent agreements, about 45% had already received advance payments.
According to IREN, customer payments have reduced the amount that these deployments required for direct financing. The company's July update showed that as of June 30, its cash and cash equivalents amounted to approximately $7.6 billion, which includes restricted cash.
Cipher gains the support of Google but also incurs costs for shareholders.
In addition to interest expenses, BlocksBridge also pointed out that Google provides support for Cipher Digital's Barber Lake project, which is a financing case that includes equity components.
According to the transaction described in the communication for September 2025, Google agreed to provide a guarantee for the $1.4 billion lease obligation of Fluidstack to support the project financing. In exchange, Google obtained warrants representing approximately 5.4% of Cipher's share capital, calculated on a prepared basis, and these warrants are subject to adjustment clauses.
The report indicates that the agreement also allows for cash settlement in certain circumstances. If options are exercised in exchange for shares, this could dilute existing shareholders, whereas the credit support from Google helps to make the project financially viable, according to BlocksBridge.
For investors evaluating expansion costs, the consulting firm takes into consideration warrants, necessary equity contributions, guarantees from the parent company, as well as cash constraints on the project, in addition to interest payments.
Cipher also obtained borrowing capacity at the corporate level. The NASDAQ-listed company disclosed in its business update on May 5th a $200 million credit arrangement supported by a group of financial institutions.
According to the disclosures from the companies covered by this report, this revolving credit facility will mature in March 2030, with an option to increase the limit by an additional $50 million.
Cipher indicates that the interest rate for this credit is the guaranteed overnight financing rate (SOFR) plus 1.25 to 1.75 percentage points. The agreement allows for a reduction in the interest rate based on the ratio of the company's total debt to its market value.
At the time of settlement, Cipher indicates that this credit has not been utilized. The company uses this borrowing capacity for liquidity, working capital, and growth, including the construction and equipment installation of its AI and high-performance computing parks.
In the same update, Cipher disclosed a 15-year lease agreement for a third large-scale AI campus signed with an investment-grade client. The company also reported revenue of $35 million in the first quarter and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $48 million.
The convertible debt of IREN comes with separate equity provisions.
U.S. institutional investors also provided funds through convertible debt. According to its financing announcement, IREN raised $3 billion in May through senior notes with a coupon rate of 1% and maturing in 2033.
IREN indicates that this transaction includes a base issuance of $2.6 billion, as well as an over-allotment option of $400 million that has been fully exercised. The company sold these securities in a private placement to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A.
After deducting fees and expenses, IREN disclosed that the net funds raised were approximately $2.96 billion. The company will use $201.3 million for capped call option transactions, and the remaining funds will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes.
According to IREN, the capped call option is intended to reduce potential dilution for shareholders when the notes are converted into shares. The initial capped price is $110.30 per share, which is twice the company's stock price of $55.15 on May 11.
IREN also disclosed a conversion premium of 32.5%. The announcement stated that, except in certain standard circumstances involving changes in control rights, investors do not have the right to repurchase.
Capital expenditures have exceeded the disclosed AI revenue.
In an analysis on August 20, BlocksBridge stated that among 9 publicly traded mining companies, capital expenditures in the first half of 2026 reached $5.11 billion, while the directly disclosed AI and high-performance computing revenues were only $341.2 million.
The consulting firm has compiled statistics on purchases of hardware, property, equipment, and other productive assets within the company. Some of these expenditures are still used for Bitcoin mining; therefore, the total amount does not fully represent the investment in AI.
In the second quarter, BlocksBridge reported a combined revenue of $205.8 million from AI and high-performance computing, representing a 52% increase compared to the previous quarter.
Investment changes also affected one exchange-traded fund in the United States. According to a report dated August 21, CoinShares renamed WGMI to CoinShares Bitcoin Mining and Digital Power ETF, and expanded its investable range to include data center operators, AI semiconductor companies, power generation enterprises, and advanced computing businesses.
As disclosed by CoinShares, as of August 18, the fund held 29 underlying assets with a total value of approximately $225.6 million. According to the fund's investment policy, WGMI is required to invest at least 80% of its net assets in qualified companies and does not directly hold Bitcoin, nor does it hold Bitcoin through derivatives.
Earlier on, in June's analysis, BlocksBridge used data from VanEck to estimate that it would take around $50 billion for listed Bitcoin mining companies to complete their planned AI infrastructure projects.
In the estimates for June, IREN had a funding gap of 21.1 billion US dollars, followed by Riot Platforms with 7.2 billion US dollars and HIVE Digital with 4.6 billion US dollars.
