Tether Execs Behind Opaque $200M Takeover of Northern Data’s Peak Mining — FT

Tether-linked buyers take control of Northern Data’s mining arm in opaque deal, FT says Northern Data has sold its Bitcoin mining unit, Peak Mining, to a trio of companies linked to senior executives at stablecoin issuer Tether, the Financial Times reports — a move that deepens Tether’s footprint in crypto mining amid heightened regulatory scrutiny. What happened - Northern Data agreed to sell Peak Mining for up to $200 million to three entities: Highland Group Mining, Appalachian Energy (Delaware), and an Alberta-based firm. According to filings cited by the FT, Highland’s directors are Giancarlo Devasini and Paolo Ardoino (Tether’s co-founder/chair and CEO), and Devasini is listed as the sole director of the Alberta company. The operator of Appalachian Energy remains unclear. - Northern Data first revealed it would divest Peak Mining in November but did not name buyers at the time — a choice reportedly allowed under German disclosure rules. Context and earlier attempts - This is the second reported attempt by Devasini-linked parties to buy Peak Mining. An earlier August agreement with Elektron Energy for $235 million collapsed amid whistleblower allegations. - The sale comes as Northern Data faces European prosecutors’ inquiries into suspected tax fraud; authorities raided company offices in September. Tether, Rumble and tangled financing - The deal closely follows a separate set of transactions tying Tether, Northern Data and Rumble (a video platform in which Tether holds nearly a 50% stake). As part of Rumble’s planned acquisition of Northern Data, Tether — which currently extends a €610 million (about $715 million) loan to Northern Data — will receive half of that loan balance in Rumble stock. The balance would be replaced by a new loan from Tether to Rumble, secured against Northern Data assets, the FT reported. - Tether has also struck commercial ties with Rumble, including a $100 million advertising agreement and plans to buy roughly $150 million in GPU services as it expands into Bitcoin mining and AI infrastructure. Why it matters - The transactions underscore how deeply Tether’s leadership is branching into adjacent crypto and tech businesses: mining, AI compute, and media platforms. Tether remains the world’s dominant stablecoin issuer by market share (around 60%) with roughly $187 billion of USDT circulating. - The sales and financing arrangements — combined with whistleblower claims and a criminal probe into Northern Data — raise fresh questions about conflicts of interest, transparency and the corporate governance of entities operating across crypto’s opaque nexus of capital, services and media. Broader ambitions - Beyond mining and media, Tether has been pursuing other high-profile investments, including a rejected $1.1 billion bid for Italian soccer club Juventus on Dec. 12. The moves illustrate a rapid diversification by a company long known primarily for its stablecoin. As the story develops, regulators and market participants will be watching whether the deals prompt further scrutiny of related-party transactions, and how Northern Data’s legal issues affect the broader network of companies tied to Tether. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news