Crypto funds slide as Tether boosts lending

Today, cryptocurrency Tether expanded its commodity lending strategy, with $1.5 billion already deployed to traders. US spot bitcoin ETFs saw outflows of $866 million, sending BTC to a six-month low. Meanwhile, Bitfarms has said it will stop mining bitcoins entirely as they fixate on AI.

Strap in to accelerate pressure on commodity cash lending, USDt credit

Stablecoin issuer Tether is expanding its presence in commodity lending, with billions of dollars already deployed in the sector, according to CEO Paolo Ardoino.

In an interview with BloombergArdoino said that Tether has so far lent around $1.5 billion to commodity traders, providing funding in both cash and USDt (USDT) stablecoins.

The company focuses on traditional commodity businesses, including agricultural products and oil, and plans to increase its exposure. “We’re going to expand dramatically,” Ardoino said.

The lending business falls under Tether’s recently launched Trade Finance unit – a line of business that typically focuses on short-term loans used to facilitate the movement of goods across global supply chains. In the world of commodities, trade finance typically provides the funds traders need to purchase, transport and deliver cargo.

Bloomberg reported that some companies may be hesitant to borrow in USD rather than dollars, although Tether’s growing financial clout may outweigh that reluctance. With nearly $184 billion in circulation, Tether is now among them most profitable companies in the world per employee.

Tether’s push into commodities builds on its existing footprint in the sector. Its tokenized gold product, Tether Goldit grew in size during the gold rally and Ardoino more recently he said the company owns more than 100 tons of physical gold.

Bitcoin ETFs Drain $866M in Second-Worst Day on Record, But Some Analysts Are Still Bullish

Demand for bitcoins and investment funds linked to cryptocurrencies it continued to decline on Thursdaydespite the long-awaited end of the 43-day US government shutdown.

US Spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs saw net outflows of $866 million on Thursday, their second-worst day on record after daily outflows of $1.14 billion on February 25, 2025, according to to Farside Investors.

That marked a second straight day of outflows for bitcoin ETFs as the end of the 43-day US government shutdown failed to reignite investor appetite.

The $866 million outflow came a day after the president Donald Trump signed on Wednesday, a draft of the government’s financing bill. The bill provides funding through January 30, 2026.

The lack of demand for ETFs is causing considerable concern among crypto investors as these funds were the main drivers of Bitcoin in 2025 along with Michael Saylor’s strategy.

However, Bitcoin’s bull market is still intact until the price falls below the key level of $94,000, or the average cost base of investors who bought bitcoin in the past six to 12 months, according to Ki Young Ju, founder and CEO of crypto intelligence platform CryptoQuant.

“Personally, I don’t think the bear cycle will be confirmed unless we lose this level. I’d rather wait than jump to conclusions,” Ju wrote on Friday X post.

Bitfarms that end Bitcoin mining are moving towards AI

On Thursday, Bitfarms said it will shut down its Bitcoin (BTC) mining activities over the next two years and convert them to artificial intelligence and high-computing data centers as its third-quarter results posted deeper losses.

The company will begin the transition by converting its 18-megawatt bitcoin mining site in Washington to support artificial intelligence, with completion expected in December 2026. It will then wind down the rest of its bitcoin mining business during 2026 and 2027.

Bitfarms CEO Ben Gagnon said the AI-powered conversion of the site “could potentially produce a higher net operating income than we’ve ever generated with bitcoin mining.”

He told investors on the company’s third-quarter earnings call that “the best opportunity for most miners in the United States is this shift to HPC and AI” and that bitcoin mining is becoming more competitive because miners can “go to cheaper locations, higher risk locations, more remote locations” compared to AI data centers.

It comes as Bitfarms shares fell nearly 18% on Thursday after posting a net loss of $46 million in the third quarter, compared with losses of $24 million a year ago. The company’s revenue rose 156% year-over-year to $69 million, missing analysts’ estimates by more than 16%.