Tether's Latest Investment Landscape: Crypto Sector Still Dominates

Original Title: Tether Investments: What a $100B stablecoin empire does with its profits
Original Author: Bennett Tomlin, protos
Translation and adaptation: Rhythm Junior Worker, BlockBeats

Original Author: Rhythm BlockBeats

Original Source:

Repost: Mars Finance

Tether has now become one of the world’s most influential financial groups. Not only does it operate the highest-market-cap stablecoin, but its investment portfolio spans a wide array of sectors including cryptocurrency, payment processing, video streaming, artificial intelligence, brain-computer interfaces, farmland, satellites, soccer, and more.

These investments are aimed at expanding the company’s reach and influence, and if successful, they are expected to yield huge financial returns in the future.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has revealed that Tether has invested in more than 120 companies, but only 24 are publicly listed on the “Tether Ventures” page of its official website.

This public list has also changed over time. According to screenshots released by Ardoino and web archives, OrionX was included on the list when Tether Ventures was launched. In a now-deleted blog post, Tether described OrionX as “one of Chile’s leading digital asset exchanges.”

Protos contacted Tether to ask why the company was removed from the website, but had not received a response by publication time.

In fact, many other investment projects have been reported by the media—and sometimes even appeared on Tether’s own website—but for some reason, they were not included on the investment portfolio page.

Samson Mow’s Companies

Former Blockstream Chief Strategy Officer Samson Mow’s companies have received multiple investments from Tether.

The earliest was Tether’s participation in the security token offering (STO) of Exordium. Exordium, founded by Mow, is the publisher behind the game “Infinite Fleet.” Exordium uses the Holepunch technology funded by Tether to distribute its game client.

The Exordium website claims its security tokens are still available on Bitfinex Securities (a Tether affiliate). However, a check of the Bitfinex Securities website shows that the current list of traded codes does not include this token.

Exordium is not the only Mow-founded company Tether has invested in; it also invested in Jan3. Jan3 raised funds from Tether to “accelerate the development and expansion of the AQUA wallet.”

In addition, Blockstream has also received funding from iFinex, which is one of the companies operating the Bitfinex platform.

Celsius

Tether is also an equity investor in Celsius, a now-defunct crypto lending platform embroiled in large-scale fraud.

Celsius founder and former CEO Alex Mashinsky was recently sentenced to 12 years in prison.

It is no surprise this investment is not listed on the Tether Ventures page, especially given that the equity became worthless after the collapse of this fraudulent platform.

In addition to the equity investment, Tether also provided loans to Celsius, and the liquidation of these loans was a major point of contention in the Celsius bankruptcy proceedings. The lawsuit was recently settled for $299.5 million.

Volcano Energy

Volcano Energy is a Bitcoin mining project in El Salvador, initially planned to use geothermal energy from volcanoes to power a series of Bitcoin miners.

Tether described its goal as “fulfilling its mission to invest in renewable energy to support and promote sustainable Bitcoin mining.”

According to the project’s website, Volcano Energy has since shifted its focus from volcanic geothermal to wind and solar energy. As of now, the project has not started mining any Bitcoin.

Tether Uruguay / Microfin

Tether also partnered with local company Microfin to invest in a Bitcoin mining business in Uruguay. Tether said this investment demonstrated its “commitment to energy innovation and the future of cryptocurrency.”

In September this year, there were reports that Tether was planning to abandon the project due to unpaid electricity bills. At the time, Tether told Cointelegraph: “Tether continues to support these efforts and will seek a constructive path forward, reflecting our long-term commitment to sustainable opportunities in the region.”

However, according to a report cited by El Observador, Tether has since officially abandoned the project, citing high energy costs making it economically unfeasible.

Tether’s Special Projects Services

Tether also has several projects under its “Special Projects Services” division, led by Davide Rovelli.

These include Plan B, a crypto conference in Switzerland operated by Rovelli’s AltKey SA. Plan B’s stated goal is “to establish a European crypto hub in Lugano.”

One of Plan B’s self-proclaimed “masterpieces” is Luganodes, a “staking-as-a-service” provider. This service provider primarily focuses on the Tron network founded by Justin Sun, which is the second largest network for USDT issuance.

2040 Energy / Proton

2040 Energy was originally a joint project between Tether and Swan.

The project eventually turned into a legal dispute, alleging that Tether induced consultants to leave 2040 Energy and instead start a Proton Management project more closely associated with Tether. Both 2040 Energy and Proton Management are funded by Tether.

Recently, Proton Management successfully applied for mandatory arbitration in the Central District Court of California. These projects represent only part of Tether’s growth as a major funder of the Bitcoin mining ecosystem.

Satellogic

Tether has even reached into space, investing in Satellogic, a company operating satellites and selling observation data.

In the press release announcing the investment, Satellogic said these funds “will help advance our mission as we continue to focus on strategic deployments in the United States, the national security market, and global space system opportunities.”

In October, Satellogic announced it would publicly sell some of its equity.

Parfin

Tether described Parfin in a blog post as “Latin America’s platform for digital asset custody, tokenization, trading, and management.”

This investment is part of what Ardoino described as Tether’s “firm belief that Latin America will become one of the global hubs for blockchain innovation.”

Among other features, the Parfin platform promotes its “compliance-as-a-service” management tools for financial institutions. Parfin has also launched a product called Rayls, described as “blockchain for banks.”

According to CoinMarketCap, the token associated with this project has a market cap of about $44 million.

Ledn

Ledn is a Bitcoin lending platform that Ardoino says can “expand credit channels without individuals having to sell their digital assets.”

Ledn was one of the smaller lenders to Alameda Research. After the collapse of FTX and Alameda, Ledn claimed it had “completely absorbed the impact of Alameda’s outstanding loans,” and further stated “Ledn also held a small amount of assets on FTX, but this does not affect client assets.”

Ledn previously relied on Genesis Global Capital as a partner, but reportedly terminated that relationship before Genesis collapsed. All these issues occurred before Tether invested in the company.

Kotani Pay

Tether describes Kotani Pay as “an on/off-ramp infrastructure connecting Web3 users across Africa with local payment channels.”

It promotes its ability to convert various local currencies into cryptocurrency. It also offers so-called “stablecoin settlement solutions” aimed at facilitating cross-border payments, claiming to be faster than banks.

Bit2Me

Bit2Me is described in Tether’s blog as a “leading Spanish-language digital asset platform.”

It offers exchange services, “Earn” financial products, “Loan” crypto-collateralized lending products, and a blockchain securities exchange.

It has a platform token called B2M. According to self-reported data on CoinMarketCap, its market cap has dropped from a peak of about $550 million to just $58 million.

Pave Bank

Tether’s recent investment went to Pave Bank, a bank regulated in Georgia that promises “global, secure, multi-asset banking” and “programmable banking.”

The company claims to be a “technology company” in terms of product design and construction, and a “fully regulated bank” in terms of risk, capital, and regulatory management.

Prestige Wealth

Prestige Wealth (also known as Aurelion) is a peculiar company. Similar to other Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) companies, the difference is it invests in Tether Gold—a so-called real world asset (RWA) tokenized version.

Tether invested in this company while it was raising funds to buy Tether Gold. A large part of its “PIPE” (Private Investment in Public Equity) funding round was contributed in the form of Tether USDT tokens.

In the press release announcing the investment, Aurelion CEO Björn Schmidtke said: “This isn’t just about yield or finance: it’s about redefining how real wealth is held, transferred, and preserved in the digital age.”

The release goes on to claim that Aurelion offers “yield, transparency, regulatory compliance, and daily on-chain verification.”

Pointsville

Pointsville is another company focused on tokenizing real world assets (RWA) and providing loyalty programs.

The company is led by Gabor Gurbacs, whose LinkedIn profile lists him as Tether’s Chief Strategy Advisor.

In the press release about this funding round, Ardoino said: “Tokenization is rapidly becoming one of the most practical and impactful drivers for real-world asset applications. Tether’s Hadron platform is proud to support this transformation, working with Pointsville’s experienced team to provide the scale and usability needed to integrate real-world assets and loyalty programs into the digital economy.”

Transak

Transak claims to be “the global leader in fiat-to-crypto infrastructure,” with Ardoino saying it is “accelerating adoption in both emerging and developed markets, bridging the financial access gap, and creating new opportunities for businesses and consumers.”

It offers OTC (over-the-counter) trading and on/off-ramp services.

Unlike the investments above, Tether also has several other major investments that are indeed listed on its website.

Rumble and Northern Data

When Tether first invested in Northern Data, it was a data center and Bitcoin mining company.

Tether quickly became a major shareholder. Since then, Northern Data has spun off its mining business into Peak Mining and started focusing heavily on artificial intelligence (AI).

Tether also invested in Rumble, a video streaming site popular with right-wing audiences, especially those banned from Twitch.

Subsequently, Rumble acquired Northern Data, a deal that gave Tether about 30% equity in Rumble. In addition to adding crypto to its balance sheet, Rumble also brought in Tether as a major advertising client, with Tether agreeing to spend $100 million on ads.

Rumble’s most recent earnings call discussed its intention to transform into a self-described “freedom-first” AI infrastructure company.

Ardoino was prominently mentioned on the call, at one point stating, “Rumble’s vision is completely aligned with ours.”

Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski also said on the call that this month, Rumble would roll out its crypto-based Rumble Wallet to all its users. Venture capital firm 1789 Capital, where Donald Trump Jr. is a partner, has also invested in Rumble.

Bitdeer

Jihan Wu has a long history in the Bitcoin mining industry as co-founder and former CEO of Bitmain.

He now leads Bitdeer, a company spun off from Bitmain and publicly listed on Nasdaq. Tether has invested in Bitdeer, at one point holding over a 20% stake, later reducing it to about 18%.

CityPay.io

CityPay.io is a Georgia-based company focused on helping merchants accept cryptocurrency payments.

When Tether invested in the company, it said this would be part of its efforts to “expand its presence in Georgia.” Ardoino said Tether was “excited to partner with CityPay.io to bring greater innovation and efficiency to Georgia’s payment industry.”

Fizen

Fizen is described in Tether’s blog as a “company focused on self-custody crypto wallets and digital payments.”

Fizen’s website advertises that you can “earn on the go,” and promotes the ability to “enjoy returns anytime, anywhere.”

Ardoino said this investment “underscores our commitment to expanding global access to efficient and reliable digital financial solutions, thereby promoting the wise and responsible use of digital assets in everyday life.”

Kem

Kem is described in Tether’s blog as “a platform designed for remittances and financial management,” mainly operating in the Middle East and North Africa. Ardoino said this investment strengthens “Tether’s commitment to promoting financial inclusion and stability.”

Kem’s website describes it as “the first crypto bank.” While it appears Kem is not actually a bank, nor is it the first to try to serve the crypto industry.

However, its website does state that “Kem operates through Kemfinity s.r.o. (company number: 221 62 194), an entity licensed as a VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider) in the Czech Republic.”

Sorted Wallet

Sorted Wallet is described by Tether as a platform “providing secure and convenient crypto transactions, bridging the gap for unbanked and underbanked people in developing regions.”

In addition to providing a wallet, it also promotes the ability to help users “cash out USDT to bank, phone credit, or mobile money accounts.”

Ardoino claims, “By supporting Sorted Wallet, we unlock new opportunities for individuals with basic-feature phones to participate in the financial system. Our goal is to ensure everyone, regardless of location or device, can safely manage and use cryptocurrency, empowering them to build a more secure financial future and actively participate in the evolving digital economy.”

Synonym

Synonym is a Bitcoin wallet provider with Lightning Network functionality, and its website states it is “a Tether company.”

In addition to the wallet, the company is also behind Pubky, which its website describes as an app “driven by new decentralized protocols and featuring social tags and social curation.”

It also offers Atomicity, described as a “P2P trust system” designed to enable “commerce and collaboration that surpasses big bank credit cards.”

Shiga

Shiga Digital is described in Tether’s blog as “a modern platform providing access to pan-African blockchain financial solutions, usable and accessible in the real world. Shiga Digital offers virtual accounts, OTC services, fund management, and FX services for African businesses.”

Its website proposes to “empower your business with decentralized banking solutions.” Shiga claims to be an EU-licensed virtual asset service provider, but does not appear to be a bank in the literal sense.

XREX

XREX is described on the Tether Ventures page as “an emerging market USDT-based cross-border B2B payment provider,” while its own website describes it as “reinventing the future of banking.”

Its website claims to be a FinCEN-registered money services business, a licensed major payment institution in Singapore, and a VASP AML registrant in Taiwan. There does not appear to be any mention of a banking license.

Tether’s article on the investment claims this will enable XREX to “facilitate compliant, USDT-based cross-border B2B payments in emerging markets.” The article also states “XREX will launch XAU1, a dollar-pegged unitized stablecoin overcollateralized by Tether Gold (XAUt), in collaboration with the Unitas Foundation.”

StablR and Quantoz

StablR is launching a stablecoin in Europe aimed at compliance with the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework, relying on Tether’s Hadron tokenization platform.

Quantoz is another company planning to use Tether’s Hadron platform to launch a MiCA-compliant stablecoin in Europe. Tether previously offered its own euro-pegged stablecoin, EURT, but that project has been shut down.

Blackrock Neurotech

Perhaps Tether’s strangest investment is Blackrock Neurotech, a company developing brain-computer interfaces.

This investment falls under “Tether Evo.” The Tether Evo website states: “Tether stands at the intersection of innovation and human potential, committed to advancing humanity into a future where technology and human capability merge in unprecedented ways.”

Academy of Digital Industries

Tether also invested in the Academy of Digital Industries, an online training and education platform based in Georgia. This investment reportedly enabled the platform to add courses on “Bitcoin, stablecoins, peer-to-peer technology, and artificial intelligence.”

Be Water

Be Water is described in Tether’s investment announcement blog as “an innovative media company focused on producing and distributing audio, video, film, and live content.” Ardoino stated that the investment aligns with Tether’s belief in “the importance of independent media in shaping an informed society.”

Crystal Intelligence

Tether’s investment in blockchain analytics company Crystal Intelligence appears to align with its desire to “combat illicit stablecoin use by supporting law enforcement and establishing a safer, more resilient digital asset ecosystem.” Tether also works with Crystal Intelligence competitor Chainalysis, integrating it into the Tether Hadron platform.

Elemental Altus

Tether also invested in Elemental Altus, a precious metals royalty company. Ardoino says this investment aligns with Tether’s “long-held belief that tangible assets like Bitcoin and gold will underpin the most enduring forms of digital value.”

Holepunch

Tether and its sister company Bitfinex are also behind Holepunch, an encrypted peer-to-peer communications platform that offers the Keet video chat app. Ardoino also serves as Chief Strategy Officer of Holepunch.

Juventus Football Club

One of the most perplexing investments is Juventus Football Club, which Tether tries to describe as an opportunity to “bring its futuristic investment portfolio into the sports industry.” This also suggests Tether hopes to use the opportunity to “integrate stablecoins, digital assets, and human-centric technology into daily life.”

Zengo Wallet

Tether describes Zengo as a “leading self-custody crypto wallet known for its security and ease of use,” further claiming Zengo has served 1.5 million users “without a single wallet hack, phishing, or takeover incident.”

Zengo is an MPC (multi-party computation) wallet that stores shards of your crypto keys between your own mobile device and Zengo’s servers.

Mansa

Mansa claims to provide revolving credit lines to payment companies to help facilitate transaction settlement and rapid fund turnover for client accounts. Its website also describes other services it offers, including OTC forex trading and “virtual card processing.”

Oobit

Tether describes Oobit as “a mobile payment application.” Ardoino says Tether’s investment is part of Tether and Oobit’s “shared vision to drive widespread adoption of cryptocurrency globally.”

Adecoagro

Adecoagro is an agricultural group that also invests in energy production. After Tether acquired a majority stake in the company, it announced a memorandum of understanding “to explore strategic cooperation focused on Bitcoin mining.”

NAKA

NAKA is a company claiming to develop “self-custody payment cards.” Crunchbase data shows Tether has invested in the company.

Twenty One

Lastly is Twenty One, a Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) company led by Jack Mallers and owned by Tether, launched in partnership with Tether’s most important custodian, Cantor Fitzgerald.

Twenty One’s website currently claims to hold 43,514 bitcoins.

Conclusion

Protos has only been able to verify about a quarter of Tether’s investments (assuming Ardoino’s “120+” figure remains accurate).

The confirmed investments show a financial company with far-reaching connections both inside and outside the crypto industry, while the vast majority of its other investments remain unknown. This makes it nearly impossible for outsiders to assess the full extent of Tether’s influence and reach.