SWI Group raises $894 million to pivot former FTX miner Genesis Digital to AI
In brief
- SWI Group raised €800 million ($894 million) from institutional investors, valuing the company at €6.1 billion.
- Genesis Digital Assets, the former FTX-owned bitcoin miner controlled by SWI, is now renamed SWI Digital.
- CEO Max-Hervé George told the WSJ he had "zero interest" in bitcoin mining.
- SWI is selling Kazakhstan sites and aims to use U.S. and Swedish facilities for AI.
From FTX asset to SWI Digital
SWI said the capital increase values the company at 6.1 billion euros, CoinDesk reported. The Genesis deal moved quickly. SWI announced in June that it was buying about 40% of the miner for $500 million, then completed the acquisition in August with 70% of the voting rights (renaming the unit SWI Digital along the way).
The miner's history runs straight through the FTX collapse. According to the Wall Street Journal, as cited by CoinDesk, Alameda Research (the crypto trading firm owned by former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried) invested more than $1 billion in Genesis Digital Assets from 2021 and owned about 20% of it. FTX filed for bankruptcy in November 2022, and that stake ended up among the many assets the estate scrutinized.
Mining is out
SWI's chief isn't hedging about where this goes.
SWI CEO Max-Hervé George told the Wall Street Journal he had “ zero interest ” in bitcoin mining.
The company is selling Genesis Digital Assets' sites in Kazakhstan and aims to use its U.S. and Swedish facilities for AI workloads, per CoinDesk. That's a clean break from the business the unit was built around.
A crowded race for power
The pivot puts SWI in the same race as listed miners like TeraWulf and Core Scientific, which are converting power access and data-center capacity into AI hosting businesses. CoinDesk reported that bitcoin miners have signed more than $70 billion in AI and high-performance computing contracts as they look for steadier revenue than mining provides.
Why the rush? According to CoinDesk, a miner's most valuable asset today isn't its fleet of machines at all; it's the power connections and data-center sites that can be repurposed for AI customers. SWI now has €800 million in fresh capital to chase those same customers in Europe and the U.S.
Frequently asked questions
How is Genesis Digital Assets connected to FTX?
According to the Wall Street Journal, as cited by CoinDesk, Alameda Research (the trading firm owned by former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried) invested more than $1 billion in Genesis Digital Assets from 2021 and owned about 20% of the miner. FTX filed for bankruptcy in November 2022, and that investment was among the assets the estate scrutinized.
What is SWI Group doing with Genesis Digital Assets?
SWI completed its acquisition in August with 70% of the voting rights and renamed the unit SWI Digital. It's selling the Kazakhstan sites and aims to use its U.S. and Swedish facilities for AI workloads.
Why are bitcoin miners moving into AI hosting?
CoinDesk reported that bitcoin miners have signed more than $70 billion in AI and high-performance computing contracts as they look for steadier revenue than mining provides. Their most valuable assets are now power connections and data-center sites that can be repurposed for AI customers.
