FTX Bitcoin Strategy Faces a Surprise Turn as SWI Group Secures $900 Million

SWI Group has raised €800 million from institutional investors at a €6.1 billion valuation as it moves to expand into AI infrastructure. The Singapore-incorporated, Amsterdam-listed company is shifting Genesis Digital Assets, a Bitcoin mining firm previously backed by FTX, toward infrastructure services for hyperscale cloud providers.

The company intends to market Genesis Digital’s facilities in Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Sweden to large-scale cloud computing operators. SWI reports that Genesis Digital has more than 1.3 gigawatts of energized and approved grid connections across 15 sites. Together with AiOnX, its European platform, SWI says its overall capacity exceeds 3.6 GW.

The fundraising comes after SWI acquired about 38.3% of Genesis Digital’s shares on June 15 for $500 million. The transaction also covered 77.2% of the $1.124 billion liquidation preference attached to Genesis Digital’s preferred stock. SWI has since advanced to majority ownership of the Bitcoin mining business.

SWI is pursuing a strategy based on the potential value of existing power infrastructure. Rather than relying solely on Bitcoin mining revenue, the company aims to capitalize on demand for electricity and grid access as AI developers seek locations for data centers and high-performance computing.

Genesis Digital’s Shift to AI Faces Execution Challenges and an FTX Connection

Data Center Dynamics has described the transaction as a move toward infrastructure aimed at hyperscale cloud customers, with Genesis Digital’s facilities being positioned for potential AI and high-performance computing use. The strategy follows similar moves by CoreWeave, Iren, and Applied Digital, which have expanded into AI infrastructure and neocloud operations.

The transition highlights the growing connection between crypto mining infrastructure and the AI industry’s substantial investment requirements. However, the convergence of AI financing and cryptocurrency markets has also raised concerns about credit exposure in the AI sector and the potential impact on Bitcoin.

Genesis Digital has a significant financial connection to Alameda Research, the trading firm affiliated with FTX. Beginning in 2021, Alameda invested approximately $1.15 billion in the company and acquired a 20% ownership stake. The investment later became part of the wider scrutiny surrounding FTX and the business empire built by Sam Bankman-Fried.

After FTX collapsed, administrators overseeing its estate sued Genesis Digital to recover the funds. According to the Wall Street Journal, the estate described the investment as one of Bankman-Fried’s most reckless decisions and characterized Genesis Digital’s Kazakh assets as virtually worthless.

FTX withdrew the lawsuit on June 15, coinciding with SWI’s completion of its initial investment. SWI founder and CEO Max-Hervé George said all legal disputes with FTX and other shareholders had been resolved.

SWI has identified several immediate objectives: finding hyperscale cloud customers for the four facilities in the United States and Sweden, selling three smaller mining sites in Kazakhstan, and directing the new funding toward infrastructure, computing capacity, and development opportunities across Europe and the United States.

Nevertheless, the company has not provided a schedule for converting its facilities to AI operations. No signed hyperscaler agreements or live AI computing capacity have been confirmed in the announcement. While the €800 million raise gives SWI financial resources to pursue the transition, its longer-term prospects will depend on successful conversions and securing commercial demand for the planned infrastructure.