Northern Data Completes Sale of Peak Mining Unit
Northern Data’s departure from Bitcoin mining has quietly redrawn the ownership map of one of its most valuable units, with Peak Mining ending up under the control of companies tied to the leadership of Tether.
Rather than a straightforward asset sale to an outside buyer, the transaction unfolded through a group of three entities that share close links to Tether’s top executives. According to reporting by the Financial Times, Peak Mining was acquired for a combined consideration of up to $200 million by Highland Group Mining, Appalachian Energy, and a Canada-based company.
Corporate records indicate that Giancarlo Devasini, Tether’s co-founder and chairman, plays a central role across the acquiring entities. Devasini appears as a director in multiple companies involved in the purchase, while Paolo Ardoino also holds a board position at Highland Group Mining. The ownership and management structure of Appalachian Energy, registered in Delaware, has not been publicly clarified.
A sale revealed after the fact
When Northern Data first announced plans to divest Peak Mining in November, the company did not disclose who the buyers were. At the time, it said local regulatory requirements did not obligate it to name them. As a result, the extent of the links between the buyers and Tether leadership only became clear later through filings and reporting.
The delayed transparency has drawn attention to how the transaction was structured, particularly given Northern Data’s high-profile role in European crypto infrastructure. Peak Mining had been one of the company’s most visible Bitcoin-focused operations, and its sale marked a clean exit from direct mining activity.
Not the first attempt
The completed deal followed a failed effort earlier in the year. In August, Northern Data announced an agreement to sell Peak Mining to Elektron Energy for $235 million. That transaction ultimately collapsed after whistleblower allegations surfaced, forcing the company to abandon the plan and seek alternative buyers.
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The final structure, involving multiple Devasini-linked entities, allowed Northern Data to close the divestment after months of uncertainty, albeit at a lower reported valuation.
Why Peak Mining matters
Peak Mining is not a minor asset. The unit sits at the intersection of energy-intensive computing and large-scale digital infrastructure, making it strategically valuable at a time when Bitcoin mining is increasingly tied to power efficiency and access to specialized facilities.
By transferring the unit to companies connected to Tether executives, control of the mining operation shifts closer to a broader crypto-financial ecosystem rather than remaining within a publicly listed data center group. While the buyers are legally separate entities, the overlap in leadership has fueled scrutiny from market observers.
A definitive exit from mining
With the sale now completed, Northern Data has formally closed the chapter on Bitcoin mining. The company’s future strategy is expected to focus elsewhere, while Peak Mining begins a new phase under owners closely associated with one of the crypto industry’s most influential firms.
Although the transaction itself complies with disclosure rules, its structure highlights how ownership in crypto infrastructure can change hands quietly – and how leadership ties can shape outcomes long after an initial announcement is made.
Alexander Stefanov
Reporter at CoinsPress
Alex is Editor-in-Chief of Coinspress and co-founder of Millennial Media Group, with nearly a decade of experience covering financial markets - crypto first, then everything else. It started in 2016 with Bitcoin. Like most people at the time, he didn't fully understand it - so he kept digging. Blockchain, tokenomics, the projects, the cycles. That curiosity never stopped, and eventually pulled him into traditional markets too: equities, commodities, macro. Not because he left crypto behind, but because you can't properly understand one without the other. What drives him is straightforward: he wants to know why something is happening, not just that it's happening. Most market coverage stops at the headline - price up, price down, here's a chart. Alex finds that kind of reporting actively unhelpful. If you walk away from an article without understanding the mechanism behind the move, what did you actually learn? He holds a degree in Tourism from New Bulgarian University - not the most obvious path into financial markets, but markets have a way of pulling in people who are simply too curious to stay out. He has authored over 200 in-depth analyses and more than 10,000 articles across crypto and traditional finance. He still thinks every day in markets teaches him something new. That's probably why he hasn't stopped.
