The Entities Behind the Maysville Project

Before Rumble’s acquisition of Northern Data was finalized in June 2026, the connections between Tether, Northern Data, and Peak Mining were defined by significant equity ownership, debt financing, and a direct transfer of assets to Tether’s own leadership.

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The relationship can be broken down into three primary layers of connection:

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1. Tether and Northern Data’s Foundation

Tether acted as the primary financial backer and majority shareholder for Northern Data, a German firm focused on AI and high-performance computing (HPC). 1

• Majority Ownership: Tether held a majority stake (approximately 54%) in Northern Data. 1

• Debt Financing: Northern Data relied heavily on Tether for capital, including a significant loan of 610 million euros. 2

• Strategic Pivot: Following a $420 million investment by Tether in 2023 for Nvidia GPUs, Northern Data pivoted away from Bitcoin mining to focus on AI and cloud services, leading to the creation of three units: Ardent (data centers), Taiga (AI cloud), and Peak Mining (the Bitcoin mining unit). 3

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2. Peak Mining’s Ownership and the "Tether-Connected" Sale

Peak Mining was Northern Data’s dedicated Bitcoin mining arm. As Northern Data sought to prioritize its AI and GPU-based businesses, it moved to divest from its mining operations. 4

• The Failed Deal: In August 2025, Northern Data attempted to sell Peak Mining for $235 million to Elektron Energy, a company controlled by Tether co-founder Giancarlo Devasini. This deal failed amid scrutiny and whistleblower allegations. 5

• The Finalized Sale: In November 2025, Northern Data sold Peak Mining for up to $200 million to three companies: Highland Group Mining, Appalachian Energy LLC, and 2750418 Alberta ULC. 6

• The Tether Connection: While Northern Data initially did not publicly disclose the buyers, investigations and filings confirmed these entities were controlled by Tether’s leadership, specifically Giancarlo Devasini and Paolo Ardoino. This effectively transferred the mining assets from a company Tether majority-owned to firms directly controlled by its own executives. 6

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3. Contextualizing the Rumble Acquisition

The disposal of Peak Mining was a prerequisite for Rumble’s $767 million acquisition of Northern Data.

• Streamlining Assets: By shedding the Bitcoin mining unit, Northern Data cleared its balance sheet and reduced the debt it owed to Tether. 7

• Tether’s Dual Role: Tether was already a major stakeholder in Rumble (holding roughly 48–50%) and had agreed to support the acquisition. 8

• Outcome: Through the acquisition process, Tether maintained its influence by becoming a major shareholder in the expanded Rumble entity and securing long-term service contracts for GPU and cloud services. 1

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In summary, before the acquisition, Tether acted as the financial "hub"—providing the debt to Northern Data, majority-owning the parent company, and facilitating the sale of the mining division (Peak Mining) to its own top executives to prepare Northern Data for its integration into Rumble. 6

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4. Who Currently Owns Peak Mining

Peak Mining is currently owned by a group of entities controlled by senior executives at Tether, specifically its co-founder and chairman, Giancarlo Devasini, and its CEO, Paolo Ardoino. 9

The ownership structure of these entities, which finalized the purchase of Peak Mining for up to $200 million in November 2025, is as follows:

• Highland Group Mining Inc.: Directed by Giancarlo Devasini and Paolo Ardoino. 10

• 2750418 Alberta ULC: A Canadian-based entity solely directed by Giancarlo Devasini. 9

• Appalachian Energy LLC: A Delaware-registered company; while its specific directors were not publicly disclosed, it was part of the group of companies identified as being controlled by Tether's leadership. 9

This divestiture was a strategic move by Northern Data to shed its legacy Bitcoin mining operations and focus on AI and high-performance computing (HPC) before its acquisition by Rumble, which closed on June 17, 2026. Peak Mining was explicitly excluded from the Rumble acquisition.

 

 

5. Will the Rumble and Tether Partnership Continue?

The relationship between the two companies is centered on service-based agreements rather than physical space leasing. Following Rumble’s acquisition of Northern Data (which closed in June 2026), the partnership involves the following commitments:

• GPU Services: Tether has committed to purchasing up to $150 million in GPU services from Rumble’s new cloud and AI-infrastructure unit, "Quake AI," over a two-year period. 11

• Advertising: Tether entered into a separate $100 million advertising agreement with Rumble, spanning 2026 and 2027, aimed at expanding creator monetization and driving the adoption of the Rumble Wallet. 11

• Strategic Collaboration: The companies have a strategic partnership where Tether provides a "trust layer" for AI agents on the Rumble platform, leveraging blockchain technology. 12

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While Northern Data (now integrated into Rumble as Quake AI) owned the Maysville, Georgia, facility, the public disclosures regarding the merger focus on Rumble using those assets to provide cloud and AI infrastructure to customers like Tether, rather than leasing physical space to them. 13

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6. Conclusion of the Relationship

By the time the acquisition closed in June 2026, the entities were reorganized to streamline Rumble's new business model:              

• Rumble (now RUM Group Inc.): Operates two units—the Rumble video platform and Quake AI (the former Northern Data assets). 14

• Tether’s Continued Influence: Tether remained a key stakeholder in the new RUM Group Inc. and entered into a strategic partnership to provide the "trust layer" for AI agents on the platform using blockchain technology. 14

In essence, Tether acted as the central hub that held Northern Data’s debt and equity, facilitated the separation of the mining assets (Peak Mining) to its own leadership's sphere of control, and ultimately helped transition Northern Data’s AI assets into the Rumble ecosystem. 15