Iris Energy (NASDAQ:IREN) is back in the spotlight, with analysts at Canaccord singing its praises for its efficient Bitcoin mining capabilities and potential for future diversification.

What Happened: Citing the company's massive power capacity and ongoing data center construction, Canaccord raised its share price target for Iris Energy to $15, up from $12, Coindesk reported.

"The company is building a massive 510 megawatts (MW) of data centers in 2024 alone," explained lead analyst Joseph Vafi in the report.

"On top of that, they've secured a staggering 2,160 MW of power capacity and have a 1 gigawatt (GW) plus development pipeline."

This puts Iris Energy in a league of its own when it comes to raw power for Bitcoin mining.

The news comes at a time when the entire mining sector is looking beyond just Bitcoin. "Mining stocks have seen a recent rerating," the report notes, referencing Core Scientific's (NASDAQ:CORZ) AI deal with CoreWeave.

This suggests that investors are starting to see the potential for Bitcoin mining sites to be repurposed for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC).

This is particularly relevant for Iris Energy, which faced a short-seller attack earlier this month questioning the suitability of its Childress, Texas site for AI and HPC.

However, Canaccord remains bullish, stating, "We believe management is well-prepared to expand the use case for its data centers beyond just Bitcoin mining, with strong infrastructure in terms of power, cooling, and network."

Bitcoin mining continues to be a vital revenue stream for Iris Energy, facilitating the funding of infrastructure developments. The company has multiple avenues to monetize its infrastructure, including Bitcoin mining, AI cloud services, and AI colocation.

What's Next: As Iris Energy navigates these changes, insights and discussions at events like Benzinga's Future of Digital Assets on Nov. 19 will be crucial in shaping the future direction of digital asset investments and innovations.