According to Ardoino, the USDT stablecoin issuer has been trying to diversify into several key sectors. These include artificial intelligence, data centers, telecommunications, and Bitcoin mining.
The investment in the latter industry is part of a broad strategy to not only diversify into a key sector and generate further profits. Tether wants to become a main figure in the protection of the Bitcoin network.
Per The Block, the company has invested as much as $10 billion in the digital asset. Thus, by becoming a top miner, Tether makes sure its investment stays safe and that the BTC blockchain will not fall in the hands of a group of bad actors. Ardoino told The Block:
I think that is clear that if you have $1 million and you have to decide where to put it either in bitcoin mining or in buying bitcoin directly, you would always make more money buying bitcoin directly. But in our case, I think given the exposure that we have to bitcoin, it’s important to be part of the security of the network. Realistically, by the end of this year, Tether will become the biggest bitcoin miner out there.
The company faces several obstacles in achieving this goal. The Bitcoin mining business has become one of the most competitive in the nascent industry with actors such as Marathon Digital Holdings, Riot Platforms, CleanSpark, and others controlling around 30% of the BTC hashrate.
Moreover, as the report claims, Tether is yet to disclose how much of the BTC hashrate they operate. Thus, making it difficult to determine where the stablecoin issuer stands against its competitors.
However, it has been determined that Tether has poured billions of dollars into improving its mining infrastructure. The company’s strong ties with Latin American governments, such as El Salvador, Uruguay, and Paraguay in over 15 facilities.
Cover image from Unsplash, BTCUSD chart from Tradingview
