Why IREN (Iris Energy) (IREN) fell 8.70%
IREN (Iris Energy) (IREN) fell 8.70% on October 22, 2026 — Tech selloff on FTC subpoenas drags GPU peers.
What happened
A broad tech selloff hit AI infrastructure names after the FTC subpoenaed OpenAI and Anthropic, with the report framing a $500 billion threat to Microsoft, Amazon, and Google.
Why it moved
IREN's GPU capacity is only worth as much as the AI labs that rent it, so a probe into OpenAI and Anthropic puts the demand outlook for neocloud capacity in question.
Why it matters
IREN is part of the GPU Neocloud theme, where companies rent out AI compute on the back of large contracts and lender financing.
What would break the thesis
If the FTC focuses on consumer protection and leaves cloud partnerships alone, lab demand for compute should hold and the drop should fade.