Companies run by Tether’s secretive founder bought a crypto miner from an AI business owned by the stablecoin giant itself, highlighting how one of the world’s biggest crypto companies is managing its complex web of investments.

Tether is the majority owner of German AI data centre operator Northern Data, which announced in November that it had sold its bitcoin mining business, Peak Mining, for up to $200mn. The buyers were later named in a US regulatory filing as Highland Group Mining Inc, Appalachian Energy LLC and 2750418 Alberta ULC.

A British Virgin Islands filing shows that Highland Group’s directors are Giancarlo Devasini, Tether’s co-founder and chair, and Paolo Ardoino, the stablecoin firm’s chief executive. The sole director of the Alberta company is Devasini, according to a Canadian company document. It is unclear who runs Appalachian Energy, which is based in Delaware. The directors of these companies have not previously been reported.