THE MINING POD: Cipher Lands Google Deal, MicroBT Opens U.S. Shop, IREN Doubles GPU Fleet

Cipher Mining landed its first AI tenant, with $1.3 billion in the deal backstopped by Google, and MicroBT has opened a U.S. distribution hub with 10,000 ASIC miners per month in volume. Click Here To Join the BitAxe Giveaway! Welcome back to The Mining Pod! On today’s round up, we dive deep into Cipher Mining's $3 billion AI hosting deal with Fluid Stack, backed by Google's $1.4 billion guarantee. And as hashrate surges to 1,100 EH/s, miners are struggling with sub-$50 hash prices. Plus MicroBT has opened a U.S. distribution hub, and IREN’s aggressive GPU expansion. **Notes:** • Cipher signed $3B AI deal with Fluid Stack • Google backstopping $1.4B of obligations   • Hash price under $50/PH/day (6mo low) • Network hash rate at 1,100 EH/s • IREN doubled GPU fleet to 23K units, raises Q1-2026 ARR to $500M • MicroBT opens 10K unit/month US shop Timestamps: 00:00 Start 03:03 Difficulty Report by Luxor 07:08 Cipher and Fluidstack deal! 13:15 MicroBT opens up shop in US 17:34 Cleanspark Ad 18:03 IREN doubles GPU fleet (again) 👉CleanSpark, America's Bitcoin Miner! CleanSpark (Nasdaq: CLSK), America's Bitcoin Miner®, is a market-leading Bitcoin miner with a proven track record of success. They own a fully self-operated portfolio of mining facilities across the U.S. powered by globally competitive energy prices. CleanSpark sits at the intersection of Bitcoin, energy, operational excellence and capital stewardship. Optimally monetizing low-cost, high reliability electricity positions them to prosper in an ever-changing world. 👉 FBOX, Cooling for Bitcoin Mining and the AI Data Center Transformation FBOX is the global leader in cooling system manufacturing, with the #1 shipment volume of bitcoin mining containers worldwide. Not only powering for the strongest hashrate, their technology also helps mining infrastructure transform into AI data centers. Backed by the largest production scale on earth, global deployment capability, and a full range of cooling solutions, they are shaping the future of compute. 👉 Luxor, Leaders In Bitcoin Mining and Compute Power! Get game-changing mining results with Luxor Firmware. Boost hashrate, cut energy costs, protect your hardware, and maximize mining profits with LuxOS. 👉 Colorado Air Filter, Leaders In Mining HVAC Solutions! Pick from 6 different filtration brands from MERV 8 pleats to HEPA filters. Get your mine in top shape before the heat and dust of this summer comes! Contact [e-mail] Published twice weekly, "The Mining Pod" interviews the best builders and operators in the Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining landscape. Subscribe to get notifications when we publish interviews on Tuesday and a news show on Friday!