Last month, Bitfinex and Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino posted a curious tweet: the two sister companies, he said, “have been investing in bitcoin mining recently.”

He added that the goal was not to seek out the cheapest electricity — a fundamental aspect of many mining firms’ strategies — but rather to ensure that there is “enough geographical and political diversity” in Bitcoin mining.

Then, earlier this month, Tether hosted an event with Lugano, Switzerland, where Ardoino got more specific. He said that Tether wants to mine bitcoin in Lugano and that the company has invested in a little-known bitcoin mining hardware manufacturer called Enigma.

But how does bitcoin mining fit strategically with Tether and Bitfinex’s respective stablecoin and exchange businesses?

The Block sat down with Ardoino to learn more about the rationale behind the new business plan and how it fits into the bigger picture for Tether and Bitfinex.

Ethereum-challenger Avalanche makes cultural play with a $100 million creator fund to launch projects on the network exclusively accessible on social media platform Op3n. Grimes’ plans for an “intergalactic childrens’ metaverse book” will kick off the fund, with a collaboration on Ava Max’s new music video to follow suit.

Crypto is now playing a significant role in Americans’ investment decisions, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin on Friday during CNBC’s Squawk Box news program.

One week after leading a $4.5 million seed investment in Ultiverse, Binance’s venture arm is betting another $5 million on the metaverse gaming startup.  

 

Bitcoin 2022 is the LARGEST Bitcoin event ever that takes place April 6th – 9th in Miami Beach, Florida.