Alameda Research, a trading firm affiliated with the troubled exchange FTX, has invested $1.15 billion in cryptocurrency miner Genesis Digital Assets.
According to documents obtained by Bloomberg that identified FTX and Alameda’s venture portfolio, this was Alameda’s and FTX’s largest venture investment, valued at $5.5 billion in an April funding round.
Alameda invested in the cryptocurrency miner four times. It invested around $100 million in the miner last August. It put in $550 million in January, $250 million in February, and $250 million in April.
The crypto miner is unrelated to Genesis Trading, whose loan unit halted redemptions following FTX’s demise.
Genesis Digital Assets was formed in April 2021 by Marco Streng. Streng previously established Genesis Mining, which completed its first plant in Iceland in 2014.
The news comes as crypto miners continue to bear the brunt of the current downturn, which has seen bitcoin’s price plummet and energy costs rise.
Core Scientific warned of “substantial doubt” in its ability to continue operations on November 22 after posting a $435 million loss. According to The Block Research, mining revenues fell nearly 20% in November.
