Tether moves deeper into bitcoin mining with Bitdeer investment

Tether is backing bitcoin miner Bitdeer as part of a private placement deal that could amount to proceeds of $150 million. 

The stablecoin issuer has bought nearly 18.6 million Bitdeer shares and has an option to buy 5 million more at $10 per share. 

Bitdeer’s stock price was at about $6.20 at 10:30 am ET — up 6.4% on the day.   

Access to capital is something deemed critical for miners after the Bitcoin halving — an event last month that cut per-block mining rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. 

Read more: Buyers and sellers: How bitcoin miners are thinking about post-halving M&A

The share issuance generated $100 million in gross proceeds and could provide $50 million more. Bitdeer intends to use that for data center expansion and ASIC-based mining rig development, the company said in a news release.

Singapore-based Bitdeer went public on Nasdaq in April 2023. Its self-mining hash rate stood at 6.7 exahash per second (EH/s) as of April 30. 

The company said in March it was testing its newly developed bitcoin mining chip that it would be integrating into its so-called SEALMINER A1 mining machines. The company intends to install those miners at its data centers in Rockdale, TX, as well as in Norway during the second half of this year as part of a 3.4 EH/s initial expansion. 

Tether has money to invest after tallying an all-time high net profit of $4.52 billion in the first quarter.

Read more: Tether just obliterated its former net profit record for a single quarter 

The company’s investment in Bitdeer also comes after it formally introduced new business units that go beyond stablecoins. One of the divisions is Tether Power — a mining and energy team that Tether noted is “venturing into sustainable bitcoin mining operations.”

Bitdeer has made sustainability a part of its mission, unveiling plans last year to build carbon-free crypto mining operations in Bhutan.

“Bitdeer’s proven track record and world-class management team are perfectly aligned with Tether’s long-term strategic vision,” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said in a Friday statement. “We anticipate close collaboration with Bitdeer across several key infrastructure areas moving forward.”

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