According to Bloomberg, Tether, the issuer of the world's most used cryptocurrency USDT, has invested $100 million in Bitdeer, a major public crypto miner. The investment was made through a private placement of 18.6 million Class A ordinary shares, as announced by Bitdeer. The agreement also includes a warrant to purchase up to five million additional shares at $10 per share.
The funds raised will be used to expand Bitdeer's data center operations, develop ASIC-based crypto mining equipment, and for other general corporate purposes. However, the companies have not disclosed what percentage of Bitdeer is now held by Tether under the agreement.
This investment marks a significant move for Tether in its plan to become a major Bitcoin miner. The company, incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, began constructing its own mining facilities in Uruguay, Paraguay, and El Salvador last year. It had previously announced plans to spend half a billion dollars within six months on this effort.
Bitdeer, headquartered in Singapore, is one of the largest public crypto miners listed in the US, with a market capitalization of around $670 million. The company has data centers in the US, Norway, and Bhutan. Following the announcement of Tether's investment, Bitdeer's shares, which had slumped more than 40% this year, rose about 6.5% to $6.20.
Bitcoin mining involves the operation of power-hungry computers that secure the blockchain, earning new tokens as a reward. In April, these rewards were halved as part of a programmed upgrade to the Bitcoin network called 'the halving,' which occurs every four years. This change made it about half as profitable to be a Bitcoin miner. Despite this, Bitcoin's price reached a record high in March, driven in part by optimism surrounding newly-launched spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the US. Bitcoin traded up around 0.7% at $68,800 on Friday.
