Tether acquires stake in Bitcoin miner Northern Data, hinting at AI collaboration
The firm behind stablecoin Tether (USDT) has invested an undisclosed amount into German-based crypto miner Northern Data Group in a move backing artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives.
In a Sept. 21 blog post, Tether said the strategic investment into Northern Data through Tether group company Damoon was intended to demonstrate “its determination to support emerging technology”, hinting at collaborations involving AI, peer-to-peer communications, and data storage solutions. The company denied a report from Forbes regarding a $420-million investment, but did not specify the exact amount when reached for comment. Cointelegraph also reached out to Northern Data, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
Northern Data announced in July that it had reached an agreement with Tether to acquire Damoon, a deal in which the stablecoin issuer “agreed to capitalize Damoon prior to completion of the acquisition with the funds needed to acquire latest-generation GPU hardware”. Tether chief technology officer Paolo Ardoino described the investment as a ”fresh venture into new technological frontiers”.
Tether claimed the investment was “separate from [its] reserves” and would not impact customer funds. The firm previously faced legal action in the United States following accusations it had not been fully transparent about its reserves, resulting in millions of dollars in fines and orders to provide reports on USDT’s backing.
Related: Tether stablecoin loans rise in 2023 despite downsizing announcement in 2022
As the largest stablecoin issuer by market capitalization at more than $83 billion, Tether has made many investments globally, from partnering with KriptonMarket in Argentina to signing a memorandum of understanding to help develop peer-to-peer infrastructure with the government of Georgia. In August, Ardoino revealed some of the firm’s mining operations were based in Latin America, though it’s unclear if they could expand to Germany following the deal with Northern Data.
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