Tether Commits $775 Million to Rival YouTube

Tether, the issuer of the popular stablecoin USDT, has announced a strategic investment of $775 million in the Canadian video hosting and cloud storage platform Rumble, aiming to foster decentralized and community-owned media platforms.

Tether Announces $775 Million Strategic Investment in Rumble ( @rumblevideo ) to Boost Decentralized and Community-Owned Media Platforms

Read more:https://t.co/2lRvcd6LJW

— Tether (@Tether_to) December 20, 2024

“The investment includes an initial cash injection of $250 million, along with Tether’s support for a proposal to buy back up to 70 million Rumble shares at $7.50 per share, reinforcing the platform’s development plans. The total investment will amount to approximately $775 million or 103,333,333 common shares,” according to the press release.

The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025. Rumble’s CEO and Chairman, Chris Pavlovski, will retain a controlling stake.

The company’s shares are traded on Nasdaq under the ticker RUM. Rumble is well-known for its collaboration with Trump Media & Technology Group, including the development of the social network Truth Social.

The site has gained popularity among Americans with conservative and far-right political views, often associated with the alt-tech movement. The platform boasts around 67 million active users.

Rumble’s revenue in the third quarter of 2024 reached $25.1 million, marking a 39% increase compared to the same period last year. However, the company’s net loss grew to $31.5 million from $29 million a year earlier.

Following the announcement, the video hosting platform’s stock price surged by more than 50%.

In late November, as digital gold neared the $100,000 mark, Rumble’s board of directors approved the creation of a Bitcoin reserve, mirroring MicroStrategy’s strategy. The initial investment was $20 million.

$10 Billion Net Profit

In an interview with Bloomberg, Tether’s head Paolo Ardoino revealed that the company expects to end the year with a net profit exceeding $10 billion. He stated that more than half of this amount has already been invested in various promising areas.

“Next year, we plan to allocate at least half of the profits to investments,” noted Ardoino, emphasizing that “this is just the beginning.”

Specifically, in the first quarter of next year, Tether has planned the launch of an AI platform that “will allow people to interact with artificial intelligence via mobile phones.”

Just got the draft of the site for Tether’s AI platform.
Coming soon, targeting end Q1 2025.

??? (goosebumps)

— Paolo Ardoino ?? (@paoloardoino) December 20, 2024

According to Ardoino, the company will focus on investments in the United States, hoping that the regulatory environment for the crypto industry will become more favorable and predictable under Donald Trump’s presidency.

Tether Investments is also channeling funds into Bitcoin mining, renewable energy, telecommunications, and education. Additionally, the company is actively financing commodity trading.

There are over 100 million USDT holders worldwide.