Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms Inc. said it expects to take delivery as well as deploy 31,500 Whatsminer M60S miners worth $97.4 million by the end of July 2024. The addition of the new bitcoin mining machines is projected to increase the “self-mining” hashrate capacity of Riot’s Rockdale Facility to 15.1 EH/s. Replacement of Underperforming Miners […]
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Vella Finance, a Nigerian fintech startup, was recently bought by the microfinance bank Carbon. The acquisition of the fintech startup paves for Carbon to launch a new banking platform targeting Nigerian businesses. New Business to Leverage Artificial Intelligence The Nigerian microfinance bank, Carbon, has reportedly acquired the fintech firm Vella Finance for an undisclosed amount. […]
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Bitcoin miner Hut 8 has secured an additional $15 million from a subsidiary of the United States-based cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, according to a Jan. 12 statement.
The miner revealed that the new deal represents an amendment and restatement of its previous $50 million credit facility with the cryptocurrency trading platform, bringing its cumulative credit portfolio to $65 million.
Last year, Hut 8 procured a $50 million credit facility from Coinbase, with an added provision for an optional $15 million term loan.
The BTC miner plans to use the newly acquired $15 million loan for general corporate purposes, mirroring the allocation of funds from the preceding financial arrangement. The new loans also carry the same interest rate as the previous ones.
“All amounts borrowed under the Credit Facility will bear interest at a rate equal to (a) the greater of (i) the federal funds rate on the date of the applicable borrowing, and (ii) 3.25%, plus (b) 5.0%.”
Hut 8 further explained that the loan is secured by its interest in an unspecified amount of Bitcoin held in Coinbase Custody, adding that the loan will mature 364 days after the date of the first borrowing.
Meanwhile, Hut 8 recently obtained court approval from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to acquire four natural gas power plants in Ontario.
The approval empowers Hut 8’s newly established Canadian subsidiary, BidCo, to execute the acquisition of a 40 MW facility in Kapuskasing, a 110 MW facility in Kingston, a 120 MW facility in Iroquois Falls, and a 40 MW facility coupled with a Bitcoin mining operation in North Bay.
Along with the approval, a novel funding arrangement is set to materialize between Macquarie and BidCo. Macquarie partnered with the miner to submit the bid for the North Bay Bitcoin mine.
This financial agreement will manifest as an operating lease facility, with Macquarie securing a 20% stake and Hut 8 retaining an 80% equity interest. The anticipated closure of this transaction is slated for Feb. 15, contingent upon the resolution of all pending litigation claims.
Although the monetary terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, this is not the first time Animoca Brands would be investing in Web 3.0 game companies.
Popular gaming giant Animoca Brands has announced its acquisition of Web 3.0 streaming platform Azarus as part of its metaverse gaming revolution. Animoca would be seeking to leverage Azarus’ cutting-edge technology in a bid to improve its Web 3.0 games streaming capabilities.
Although the monetary terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, this is not the first time Animoca Brands would be investing in Web3 game companies. So far, it has financed hundreds of such companies as it looks to establish its place as a frontrunner in the fast-growing Web3 space.
With the new acquisition, Animoca expects to integrate Azarus’ depth in blockchain-powered game streaming with its own experience in developing and publishing digital games. But, most importantly, the deal will help Animoca to achieve its long-term goal of creating a player-controlled gaming ecosystem. That is a kind of economy where players, game developers, and streamers have full control of their digital property rights.
According to Animoca, this groundbreaking Web 3.0 deal will bring a major shift to the gaming culture. And now, gamers could open up new revenue streams and reward their audiences, essentially incentivizing all participants – creators and viewers alike.
Echoing the thoughts of the Hong Kong-based firm, Animoca CEO Yat Siu said the acquisition was only natural. Siu also recalls how both firms share a common belief in the transformational power of Web 3.0 technology. Part of his statement reads:
“Together, we look forward to redefining the streaming landscape, making it more interactive, rewarding, and aligned with the open metaverse.”
While viewers may choose to redirect revenue to their favorite creators, Azarus also offers them a unique opportunity to naturally drive viewers to off-stream destinations. These destinations may include brand properties, e-commerce or other Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 games.
About the acquisition, Azarus CEO Alexander Casassovici also confirms that the deal with Animoca magnifies the firm’s vision. He said in a statement:
“We’re not just enhancing streaming; we’re pioneering a movement where every viewer becomes an active participant, and every stream becomes an immersive experience.”
Azarus promises to incentivize creators to broadcast across the metaverse. Expectedly, this will open up more sponsorship opportunities for event hosts, and also unlock new ways to reward fan activity.
Azarus is popularly known for its video stream wallet and games that layer over the player, reeling in an instantly-hooked audience. Azarus has partnered with several top brands and has distributed over $2 million worth of rewards to more than 20 million unique players to date.
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The firm behind stablecoin Tether (USDT) has invested an undisclosed amount into German-based crypto miner Northern Data Group in a move backing artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives.
In a Sept. 21 blog post, Tether said the strategic investment into Northern Data through Tether group company Damoon was intended to demonstrate “its determination to support emerging technology,” hinting at collaborations involving AI, peer-to-peer communications and data storage solutions. The company denied a report from Forbes regarding a $420-million investment but did not specify the exact amount when reached for comment. Cointelegraph also reached out to Northern Data but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
Northern Data announced in July that it had reached an agreement with Tether to acquire Damoon, a deal in which the stablecoin issuer “agreed to capitalize Damoon prior to completion of the acquisition with the funds needed to acquire latest-generation GPU hardware.” Tether chief technology officer Paolo Ardoino described the investment as a ”fresh venture into new technological frontiers.”
Tether Makes Strategic Investment into Northern Data Group – Set to Become the Biggest Independent AI Player in Europe
Read more:https://t.co/L4F6V10ruk
— Tether (@Tether_to) September 21, 2023
Tether claimed the investment was “separate from [its] reserves” and would not impact customer funds. The firm previously faced legal action in the United States following accusations it had not been fully transparent about its reserves, resulting in millions of dollars in fines and orders to provide reports on USDT’s backing.
Related: Tether stablecoin loans rise in 2023 despite downsizing announcement in 2022
As the largest stablecoin issuer by market capitalization at more than $83 billion, Tether has made many investments globally, from partnering with Kriptonmarket in Argentina to signing a memorandum of understanding to help develop peer-to-peer infrastructure with the government of Georgia. In August, Ardoino revealed some of the firm’s mining operations were based in Latin America, though it’s unclear if they could expand to Germany following the deal with Northern Data.
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Tokenized asset firm Securitize continues expanding investor access to private market alternative assets by acquiring the cryptocurrency fund manager Onramp Invest, which has over $40 billion in assets under management (AUM).
Securitize is planning to simplify the access of registered investment advisers (RIA) to private equity, private credit and secondary asset classes with the acquisition of Onramp.
A spokesperson for Securitize declined to disclose the acquisition’s costs to Cointelegraph. At the time of the transaction, Securitize had 150 employees, while Onramp’s headcount is 18 people, the representative noted.
The acquisition brings more than $40 billion in combined assets, which the Onramp platform handles for a community of RIAs across the United States. Onramp’s customer base features some prominent firms in the crypto industry, including asset managers WisdomTree and Valkyrie Invest, exchange-traded fund provider Global X, and crypto media outlet Coindesk — among others.
As a result of the acquisition, RIAs can offer their clients investments in alternative asset classes like private equity, private credit and real estate via Onramp Invest’s dashboard. According to the announcement, Securitize will increase and diversify the investments available to RIAs by giving them direct access to its alternative investment portfolio.
“Onramp already offered RIAs easy access to digital assets, so it is a very natural extension to offer them tokenized alternative assets to complement their portfolios,” Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo said, adding:
“Most wealth is generated in private market alternative assets, and bringing Securitize and Onramp together enables registered investment advisers to give their clients access to that wealth generation.”
The latest acquisition builds on a previous partnership between Securitize and Onramp, announced in March 2023. The partnership was focused on distributed access to tokenized private equity funds from investment firms like Hamilton Lane. At the time, Onramp’s platform had RIA firms with a combined AUM of over $35 billion.
Related: ‘XRP is not a security. Period’ — Crypto lawyers on Ripple’s case amid SEC appeal
The news comes soon after Securitize started tokenizing equity in the Spanish real estate investment trust Mancipi Partners in June. The firm expects to launch secondary trading on the Avalanche blockchain in September.
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