Tether-Linked Northern Data to Leave Bitcoin Mining and Embrace AI

Northern Data, one of Europe’s largest Bitcoin mining firms, has revealed that it is considering selling its mining unit, Peak Mining, to transition into an artificial intelligence (AI) company fully.

According to a report by TheMinerMag, Northern Data has already begun negotiations with parties interested in the divestment of its cryptocurrency mining business. Potential proceeds from the sale of Peak Mining will be channeled into purchasing more data centers and graphics processing units (GPUs) and developing its AI products.

Northern Data to Sell Mining Unit

Northern Data has spent the last 12 months building and expanding its AI business. In September 2023, the largest stablecoin issuer, Tether, announced a strategic investment in Northern Data, stating that the company’s business aligned with its initiatives of leveraging AI, peer-to-peer communications, and super-resilient data storage solutions. Tether made the investment through its subsidiary, Damoon.

Tether said at the time that Northern Data would become the “biggest independent AI Player in Europe.” It appears the Germany-headquartered crypto mining entity is about to actualize the vision.

In November 2023, Northern Data secured a €575 million (over $609 million) debt financing facility from Tether to make further investments across its three businesses: Taiga Cloud, Ardent Data Centers, and Peak Mining. The unsecured loan is set to mature on January 1, 2030.

In December 2023, Northern Data’s AI-focused subsidiary Taiga Cloud spent $360 million to purchase GPUs to bolster its cloud computing services. Two months prior, the subsidiary acquired 10,000 NVIDIA cloud GPUs with Tether’s support.

Going All-in On AI

Roughly three months ago, word came out about Northern Data exploring the possibility of launching an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States for its AI cloud computing and data centers, Taiga and Ardent.

The crypto mining firm mulled merging Taiga and Ardent for the IPO to be listed on Nasdaq in the first half of 2025 at a potential valuation of $16 billion. While plans for the IPO are still in the works, there is a high chance the firm will launch it as it is looking to divest its Bitcoin mining unit.

Meanwhile, Northern Data recorded revenue of €59 million ($63.8 million) in the third quarter of 2024, representing a 235% increase year-on-year. The firm attributed the revenue growth to its cloud business’s ongoing GPU deployment and customer onboarding.