The company behind the stablecoin Tether has made an undisclosed investment in the German cryptocurrency miner Northern Data Group to support artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives.
In a blog post published on September 21, Tether stated that the strategic investment into Northern Data through Tether group company Damoon was intended to demonstrate “its determination to support emerging technology” and alluded to collaborations involving artificial intelligence, peer-to-peer communications, and data storage solutions.
When reached for comment, the company denied a Forbes report regarding a $420 million investment but did not specify the precise amount.
Northern Data announced in July that it had reached a deal with Tether to acquire Damoon, a transaction in which the stablecoin issuer “agreed to capitalize Damoon before the completion of the acquisition with the funds required to acquire the latest-generation GPU hardware.”
The chief technology officer of Tether, Paolo Ardoino, referred to the investment as “a bold foray into new technological frontiers.”
Tether asserted that the investment was “separate from [its] reserves” and would have no effect on consumer funds.
Before facing legal action in the United States, the company was accused of not being completely transparent about its reserves, which resulted in millions of dollars in penalties and orders to provide reports on USDT’s backing.
As the largest stablecoin issuer by market capitalization with over $83 billion, Tether has made numerous global investments, such as partnering with KriptonMarket in Argentina and signing a memorandum of understanding with the government of Georgia to help develop peer-to-peer infrastructure.
In August, Ardoino disclosed that a portion of the company’s mining operations were located in Latin America, however, it is unclear whether these operations could expand to Germany following the agreement with Northern Data.