Creating a strong foothold in the stablecoin market, Tether USDT/USD is now looking to enter the Bitcoin mining space with a significant investment.
In the past year, Tether's market cap has grown by 32.7%, reflecting its prominent presence in the cryptocurrency market.
What Happened: Tether’s incoming CEO Paolo Ardoino announced plans to spend almost $500 million over the upcoming six months to expand into the Bitcoin mining industry, Bloomberg reported. It plans to build mining facilities or acquire stakes in other companies.
Tether announced a $610 million credit facility to Bitcoin mining company, Northern Data AG in November after it had acquired shares in the firm in September.
This step could not only diversify Tether’s profit avenues but also could shuffle competition levels for USDT's finite token supply. Currently, Tether makes money from managing U.S. Treasury bills and other assets in USDT’s $87 billion reserve, accumulating around $3.2 billion in excess cash as of Sep. 30, 2023.
Ardoino will become Tether CEO in December 2023 and will also retain his chief technical officer position at parent company Bitfinex.
Read Next: Tether Names Paolo Ardoino As New CEO, Aiming For Tech-Centric Evolution
Why It Matters: Tether is currently evaluating a potential site with a 300-megawatt capacity where mining operations will be profitable amid rising Bitcoin prices (up 26% in the past month).
The company has also established facilities within large containers for rapid relocation to areas where electricity is more affordable, Bloomberg reports.
Tether is building Bitcoin mines in Uruguay, Paraguay, and El Salvador, with the capacity for each site ranging between 40 and 70 megawatts.The company aims to increase its portion of the total computing power for the Bitcoin network to 1%, compared to Marathon Digital's 4%.
By 2023 end, Tether looks to reach 120 megawatts across its direct mining operations, and by 2025 its forecast stands at 450 megawatts. The stablecoin issuer has earmarked approximately $150 million for investment in mining opportunities where Tether is actively involved.
Also Read: Tether To Publish Reserve Data In Real-Time: Report
Photo: Shutterstock
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Comments
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.