FTX’s old Bitcoin mining assets have a new mission, and it’s not crypto

The Bitcoin-mining business once stuck in the FTX's bankruptcy getting a second life, powering AI, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

SWI Group, which took over the former Genesis Digital Assets this summer, announced Monday it has raised 800 million euros, which is about $900 million.

The Amsterdam-listed, Singapore-incorporated company had a market value of around $6 billion as of Oct 9. CEO Max-Hervé George said SWI needs capital to deploy more compute and has "zero interest" in Bitcoin mining.

The firm wants to serve hyperscalers such as Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud from sites in Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina and Sweden. It is also selling its last Kazakhstan assets, three small mining sites, reports the WSJ.

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A troubled history

Founded in 2017, Genesis Digital grew into one of the world's largest Bitcoin miners. Sam Bankman-Fried's Alameda Research invested more than $1 billion from 2021 and held a 20% stake. After FTX filed for bankruptcy in November 2022, the company faced weak Bitcoin prices and a hostile Kazakh government.

FTX's administrators sued last year to claw back $1.15 billion. They dropped the case on June 15, the same day SWI said it had spent $500 million on a major stake.