Crypto Biz Update: Tether’s BTC Mining and Nvidia’s AI Superchips Six Months After FTX Launch

This week’s Crypto Biz: FTX, Tether’s BTC Mining, and Nvidia’s AI Superchips

This week’s Crypto Biz looks at the crypto industry since the FTX collapse, Tether’s Bitcoin mining in Latin America, Tabi’s funding round, and Nvidia’s artificial intelligence machines.

FTX Collapse and Regulatory Impact

Just over six months after FTX’s dramatic collapse, the crypto industry can finally begin analyzing the effects of the debacle. The quick ripple effect to other crypto businesses drained liquidity from the industry and prolonged the crypto winter, with Silvergate Bank, BlockFi, and Genesis Global Capital among those hit by the exchange’s collapse.

FTX’s bankruptcy has also affected the crypto regulatory landscape, with authorities cracking down on firms — employing controversial methods in some cases — to avoid a deepening blend of traditional finance with cryptocurrencies.

Companies that closed their United States operations citing regulatory pressure in the past months included Bittrex, Nexo, and Unbanked, to name a few. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said this week that China stands to benefit most from restrictive crypto policies in the U.S., but only time will tell if this is true.

Companies are also reviewing their business operations due to increased regulatory scrutiny. In response to crypto firms being debanked, Binance has even considered buying a bank in the past months, said its CEO Chanpeng Zhao. Now, the crypto exchange is gearing up for a layoff that will boost its compliance and regulatory capabilities.

While the industry digests the recent events, FTX’s new management claims FTX 2.0 could be launched as soon as next year, hopefully in time to join the club of crypto companies striving to remain in business after November 2022.

Tether’s Bitcoin Mining in Latin America

Tether has announced its Bitcoin mining operations in Latin America, particularly in Uruguay. The stablecoin issuer aims to utilize renewable energy sources for “sustainable” Bitcoin mining and plans to hire additional team members. Tether has also expressed its intention to allocate up to 15% of its profits into BTC purchases. The decision to mine in Uruguay is driven by the country’s capability to generate 94% of its electricity from renewable sources like wind, solar, and hydropower.

Nvidia’s AI Superchips

Nvidia continues to make strides in the development of AI tools and applications. The company’s CEO Jensen Huang recently unveiled the DGX GH200, an AI supercomputer platform. This platform will assist tech companies in developing successors to the popular AI chatbot ChatGPT. Major tech firms like Microsoft, Meta, and Alphabet are expected to be among the pioneering users of this supercomputer equipment. In parallel, Microsoft is also working on its own AI chip to address rising development costs for in-house and OpenAI projects.