Stablecoin issuer Tether to enter into Bitcoin mining: Bloomberg

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Posted: November 17, 2023

• Tether aims to construct mining facilities in key locations, including Uruguay, Paraguay, and El Salvador.
• The stablecoin giant strategically chose the locations for its mining facilities to maximize efficiency.

Tether [USDT] has set its sights on a major expansion into Bitcoin [BTC] mining, targeting an investment of approximately $500 million over the next six months.

Paolo Ardoino, who is set to take the helm at Tether soon, revealed the company’s ambitious plan in an interview with Bloomberg.

The details

The stablecoin giant aims to construct mining facilities in key locations, including Uruguay, Paraguay, and El Salvador. This is in a bid to bolster its computing power to 1% of the Bitcoin mining network.

The stablecoin giant strategically chose the locations for its mining facilities to maximize efficiency and ensure optimal performance.

Ardoino outlined the company’s vision to build mining facilities with a capacity ranging from 40 to 70 megawatts (MW) in the selected countries.

The $500 million investment plan also involved financing the German miner Northern Data Group. Tether previously announced a $610 million debt financing facility for Northern Data Group earlier in the month.

Ardoino shared that the company aimed to reach a computing power of 120 MW by the end of the year.

Looking ahead, Tether has even more ambitious goals. It is planning to achieve a computing power of up to 450 MW by the end of 2025.

The stablecoin firm is also considering adaptability and flexibility in its mining operations. It was exploring the option of setting up facilities inside containers that could be relocated based on electricity price fluctuations.

Miners rush to book profits before next halving

In the wake of Bitcoin’s recent surge, miners have seized the opportunity to capitalize on the rally, racing against time before the upcoming “halving” event in April 2024.

Despite the surge in mining activity, the profitability of mining, an energy-intensive process, still lags behind its peak in 2021. Earnings per unit of computing power have increased from $70 to over $81 since the beginning of November.

However, this remains below the peak of $127 observed in May, according to mining data platform Hashrate Index.

The previous two halvings in 2012 and 2016 were followed by substantial price rallies in Bitcoin, providing an impetus for miners to navigate the upcoming reduction in rewards.