TLDR
- Tether has purchased an additional $32 million worth of Bitdeer shares as the Bitcoin mining company’s stock slumped
- Tether now holds a 21.4% stake in Bitdeer, having increased its investment since last year
- Bitcoin miners are struggling as cryptocurrency trades sideways and mining difficulty soars
- Publicly traded miners, including Bitdeer, have seen their stock prices drop significantly (BTDR down 67% YTD)
- Miners sold large amounts of Bitcoin (15,000 BTC on April 7) to raise funds amid market pressures
Stablecoin giant Tether has doubled down on its Bitcoin mining strategy by purchasing an additional $32 million worth of shares in Bitdeer this month. This comes at a time when Bitcoin miners face mounting challenges from sideways cryptocurrency prices and increasing mining difficulty.
An SEC filing shows Tether acquired the shares as Bitdeer’s stock price dropped. The purchase further increases Tether’s ownership stake in the mining company, which reached 21.4% in March according to previous filings.
Bitdeer (BTDR), listed on Nasdaq, has seen its share price tumble to $7.62, representing a steep 67% decline year-to-date. This downward trend isn’t isolated to Bitdeer but reflects broader struggles across the mining sector.
Mining Industry Faces Headwinds
The entire Bitcoin mining industry has experienced a downturn in recent months. According to JP Morgan, 14 top public mining companies collectively lost 25% of their market value in March alone, equivalent to about $6 billion.
MARA Holdings, the largest miner by market capitalization, has seen its share price drop 26% this year. Fellow large-scale miner Riot Platforms is down over 38% during the same period.
The pressure on miners has intensified as Bitcoin trades well below its January peak of around $109,000. The cryptocurrency was recently priced at approximately $85,000, up nearly 7% over the past week but still far from its all-time high.
Mining difficulty has also increased substantially. This technical measure determines how hard miners must work to validate transactions and earn rewards, directly affecting profitability.
Miners Selling Bitcoin Reserves
In response to these challenges, miners have begun liquidating their Bitcoin holdings to maintain operations. Data from CryptoQuant revealed that miners sold 15,000 BTC on April 7 alone, representing the third-largest daily outflow this year.
Whale holdings fell by 30K BTC this week.
Miner outflows hit 15K BTC on April 7 as margins sank to 33%.
Accumulation is now at its lowest pace since February. pic.twitter.com/3CcbzfO5x4
— CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) April 16, 2025
This sell-off, worth at least $1.12 billion based on that day’s prices, indicates the financial pressure many mining operations currently face. Increased market volatility and higher operational costs have forced miners to convert their digital assets into cash.
Despite these industry-wide struggles, Tether continues to invest heavily in Bitdeer. The stablecoin issuer has been systematically increasing its stake in the company through multiple purchases.
Tether’s Strategic Expansion
Tether’s investment in Bitdeer represents part of a broader strategic shift beyond its core stablecoin business. The company has shown growing interest in Bitcoin mining infrastructure.
On Monday, Tether announced it would support Bitcoin mining pool Ocean by providing hash rate to help mine blocks and collect BTC rewards. This further demonstrates the company’s commitment to the mining sector.
Tether International and Tether Investments now control 31,891,689 Class A ordinary shares of Bitdeer. Their acquisition history shows multiple purchases in February and March at prices ranging from $9.89 to $10.00 per share.
The stablecoin issuer previously invested $100 million in Bitdeer through private placement financing, with an option to purchase an additional $50 million in shares. Tether has also entered El Salvador’s Volcano Energy mining project, showing its growing interest in the sector.
Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s CEO, mentioned looking forward to working with Bitdeer on “critical infrastructure projects.” Linghui Kong, Chief Business Officer at Bitdeer, stated that Tether’s support would help accelerate the company’s growth and leadership in sustainable Bitcoin mining.
Bitdeer itself is pursuing vertical integration in the mining industry. The company, founded by Jihan Wu, is developing its own mining chips and managing its own power sources. Its SEALMINER A3 chip reportedly achieved performance below 10 J/TH in laboratory conditions.
Tether is best known for issuing USDT, the largest stablecoin and third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. USDT is designed to maintain a stable value by being backed by dollars, treasuries, and other investments.
The company has faced legal issues in the past. In February 2021, Tether agreed to stop doing business in New York following a two-year investigation by the state attorney general, which found it had “made false statements about the backing” of its stablecoin.
Tether has since pointed to quarterly attestations and transparency reports as evidence that its cryptocurrency is backed as claimed. The firm also confirmed it is working with a Big Four accounting firm to obtain an independent audit.
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