Defunct Bitcoin Miner Reborn As AI Data-Center Player

How a crypto casualty became an AI asset

A mining outfit that looked finished after Sam Bankman-Fried's empire imploded is getting a second life powering AI. The operation, once called Genesis Digital Assets, had been tied up for years in the FTX bankruptcy chaos. Launched in 2017 by German and Kazakh founders, it became one of the biggest players in bitcoin mining. Bankman-Fried got involved in 2021, putting more than $1 billion into Genesis via Alameda Research, which ultimately held 20% of the company, and Alameda was tightly connected to FTX.

When FTX entered bankruptcy in November 2022, Genesis was already reeling from a sharp bitcoin downturn and mounting resistance in Kazakhstan to miners' intensive power consumption. FTX's administrators sued the miner last year to claw back $1.15 billion, calling it "one of Bankman-Fried's most reckless investments," and arguing its Kazakhstan holdings were "virtually worthless" while its U.S. assets were "worth only a fraction of what Bankman-Fried paid." The case was dropped on June 15.

SWI's deal and the money behind the pivot

On that date, SWI Group disclosed a $500 million outlay to acquire a significant ownership position in Genesis Digital. In the aftermath, SWI increased its holdings to a controlling stake, and CEO Max-Hervé George said that every dispute connected to FTX and other shareholders is now settled. George, a 37-year-old French entrepreneur, started in distressed real estate before turning to data centers. His take on the strategy now is simple: "We need capital to deploy more compute," and he has "zero interest" in bitcoin mining.