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IREN Drops After $700 Million CEO Pay Package

Daniel and William Roberts are getting paid as investors weigh dilution, dual-class control, and IREN’s push from Bitcoin mining into AI cloud services.

By Luc Vesters
• 2 min read
IREN Drops After $700 Million CEO Pay Package

Key Takeaways

  • IREN granted co-CEOs Daniel and William Roberts a restricted stock award worth about $700 million, equal to roughly 5% of the company.
  • The shares vest through fiscal 2033, while the brothers have far more voting power than economic ownership through the dual-class structure.
  • Investors reacted negatively: the stock fell about 10% on July 2 to $38.82.

IREN came under selling pressure after the Bitcoin miner and AI company handed its two co-CEOs a restricted stock award worth about $700 million (€611 million). The package covers 18.2 million share units, or roughly 5% of the company, and remains locked until fiscal 2033.

Big Package Through 2033

The award went to Daniel and William Roberts, the brothers who founded IREN in 2018. In the filing, the company said each brother received 9,099,328 units on June 30. The shares vest over four years, and each vesting tranche is followed by an additional two-year lockup.

As a result, the final shares will not be released until fiscal 2033. On top of that, the two brothers cannot receive any new equity grants until fiscal 2031. IREN said the award is designed to retain the co-CEOs and keep them focused on executing the company’s long-term plan.

Founders' Power

The timing stands out because IREN has operated under a dual-class structure since its Nasdaq listing in 2021. Each brother holds one Class B share with 15 votes per common share, giving them far more control than their economic ownership would suggest.

As of August, they owned 2.3% of the share capital combined but controlled 21.8% of the votes. Together, they held nearly 44% of the voting rights. Those rights are scheduled to expire around November 2033, just as the Council of Institutional Investors is calling for a seven-year sunset or shorter for structures like this.

Dilution is also part of the debate. IREN’s share count increased from about 272 million in August last year to 341 million in March, partly because of its move into AI compute. The Sydney-based company started as a Bitcoin miner, but it has since expanded into AI cloud infrastructure and high-performance computing.

Why Investors Are Watching This

For European crypto readers, the bigger picture is that more Bitcoin miners are pairing their legacy mining businesses with AI services. That can make them less reliant on Bitcoin mining, but it also makes them harder to value. In IREN’s case, a large compensation package and the gradual unwind of founder control are colliding at the same time, which puts governance in sharp focus across a fast-moving sector.

The market reaction was immediate. IREN shares dropped about 10% on July 2 to $38.82 (€34), according to TradingView data. U.S. Crypto Industry Pushes for Clarity on Mining and Staking Taxes highlights how miners and other crypto firms are also dealing with a more complicated regulatory backdrop beyond the stock market. Short seller Jim Chanos pointed to the size of the award and said it amounts to nearly 17% of IREN's expected cumulative adjusted net income for fiscal 2027 through 2030. The shares vest based on time, not performance.

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