Tether Builds a Power Empire: From the Virgin Islands to the White House

In recent months, Tether has not only solidified its position in the stablecoin sector but also revealed ambitions to control an extensive power network. From sophisticated internal transactions to infiltration into Washington’s centers of influence, Tether is weaving a highly secretive business ecosystem. The question is: is this a new financial infrastructure or merely a private asset mechanism for internal leadership?

Related Transactions and Cover-up Mechanisms via the Virgin Islands

The series of events began with Northern Data’s announcement—its subsidiary holding 54% of Tether—about selling the Bitcoin mining division Peak Mining for $200 million. At first glance, this appears to be a routine transaction, but digging deeper reveals a complex web of influence.

The three companies that acquired Peak Mining are Highland Group Mining, Appalachian Energy, and 2750418 Alberta ULC—all controlled by Giancarlo Devasini (Tether co-founder) and Paolo Ardoino (CEO). Their identities are concealed in the German stock market where Northern Data is listed, a jurisdiction with much looser regulations than major exchanges.

A bigger secret lies in the choice of registration location—the Virgin Islands. All the companies involved are registered in the Virgin Islands (UK, US, and Canada), known for high privacy and lax regulation. This setup allows transactions to be completed without publicly revealing the true identities of the buyers, nor requiring related disclosures. The real identities only emerge gradually through corporate filings in the Virgin Islands weeks after the transactions.

Northern Data, Peak Mining: A Planned Asset Privatization Strategy

The timing of the sale was no coincidence. Peak Mining was sold just days before Rumble—an online video platform in which Tether owns nearly 48%—announced its acquisition of Northern Data for $760 million.

Clearly, Tether separated its volatile mining division from Northern Data ahead of the merger. This move is a sophisticated business calculation: removing high-risk assets to enable Northern Data to join Rumble as a pure AI cloud computing provider, thereby achieving a higher market valuation.

During this process, the €610 million loan Tether provided to Northern Data became a central coordinating tool. In the Rumble deal, this loan will be restructured: half will be repaid to Tether in Rumble shares, and the other half will be converted into a new loan for Rumble, secured by Northern Data’s assets. This layered financial design creates an internal capital cycle, allowing Tether’s leadership to privatize core assets while maintaining overall control.

Cantor Fitzgerald and the Washington Connection

Beyond internal asset management, Tether has established a highly complex strategic relationship with Cantor Fitzgerald—one of Wall Street’s leading investment banks.

This relationship began in 2021, when Tether entrusted Cantor with managing tens of billions of US Treasury bonds to support USDT, aiming to quell doubts about reserve transparency. Howard Lutnick, Cantor’s CEO, became the most credible guarantor for Tether within the traditional financial system.

In 2024, this relationship entered a new phase when Lutnick was nominated and confirmed as U.S. Secretary of Commerce. According to The Wall Street Journal, Lutnick personally negotiated for Cantor to receive about 5% of Tether’s equity (worth $600 million), in the form of convertible bonds—not direct shares.

This decision drew fierce criticism from Senator Elizabeth Warren, who warned that a person controlling critical stablecoin reserves and holding the U.S. Commerce Secretary position posed significant conflicts of interest. Although Lutnick claimed the investment was merely in convertible bonds, in practice, this instrument still grants Cantor the option to convert into equity in the future—effectively a delayed ownership right.

$150 Billion Profit: When Stablecoins Become a Megatool

These transactions and connections are just the tip of the iceberg. Tether has expanded from a simple stablecoin issuer into a conglomerate spanning multiple industries: crypto payments, digital asset lending, mining, AI, brain-machine interfaces, media investments, and even an attempt to acquire Italy’s Juventus football club.

Nate Geraci, President of The ETF Store, revealed a figure illustrating this ambition: Tether is projected to generate $15 billion in profit in 2025, with a profit margin of up to 99%. While American politicians debate whether stablecoins should pay interest, Tether has accumulated an enormous capital reserve from these activities.

This raises a critical question: do these massive profits create genuine value for the entire crypto industry, or are they merely used to build a closed-loop asset system for Tether’s leadership?

A Closed Ecosystem: From Mining to Power Centers

Piecing everything together, the picture becomes clear: Tether has built an extremely secretive business ecosystem where:

Assets circulate from the parent company to acquired entities, then to businesses controlled by individual leaders, through legal structures set up in the Virgin Islands to conceal identities.
Capital is restructured through various forms—loans into shares, convertible bonds into assets—to preserve control.
Official relationships with Wall Street financial leaders are formalized, enabling Tether to infiltrate U.S. power centers via high-level figures like Howard Lutnick.
Massive profits from stablecoin operations are used to own or control media platforms, mining companies, AI projects—expanding influence beyond finance.

Each business decision—selling Peak Mining, merging with Rumble, investing in Cantor—may seem independent at first glance, but they are tightly interconnected within a single power structure. Tether is not just a stablecoin issuer; it is a force shaping the distribution of power within the global financial system and political centers.