FTX’s crypto mining venture is now used to advance AI

What happened

The defunct exchange acquired a 20% stake in Genesis Digital Assets before FTX declared bankruptcy in November 2022. The investment company SWI Group has raised about $900 million in capital as part of plans to scale its data center (a building full of computers that runs online services) and AI computing capacity, which contains a mining operation previously tied to cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

SWI announced in June that it had acquired “significant shareholding” in Genesis for $500 million. FTX filed for bankruptcy in November 2022, leading to criminal charges for many executives over the misuse of customer funds.

In a Monday notice, SWI Group said the 800-million-euro, or about $900 million, capital raise would fund its AI and data center expansion plans in Europe and the United States. The group reportedly now has majority control over one of FTX’s mining companies, Genesis Digital Assets, which will now be a part of the network of data centers’ computing capacity.

At the time, the company reported that Genesis had 15 facilities with 1.3 gigawatts of capacity. The firm said that it held a 70% stake in Genesis as of August, allowing it to rename the mining venture to SWI Digital.

Key facts

• SWI — announced: in June that it had acquired “significant shareholding” in Genesis for $500 million