Tether has amassed a large fortune in recent years thanks to its namesake stablecoin, which the company says will bring in over $10 billion in profits in 2024. Flush with cash, Tether's owners have signaled they intend to make investments outside of crypto and, on Friday afternoon, followed up by announcing the company has taken a large stake in Rumble, a video platform popular with right-wing influencers.
The deal will see Tether invest $775 million in total, using $250 million to fund growth initiatives to expand the platform's reach. The rest will be used to fund a tender offer for up to 70 million of the company's publicly-traded Class A shares at a price of $7.50—a modest premium over the approximately $7 at which the shares had been trading.
In an interview with Fortune, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino described the Rumble investment as part of a larger commitment to his belief in "freedom tech," including cryptocurrency and communication platforms, that allows people to express themselves without censorship by governments or big companies.
Founded in 2013, Rumble is still much smaller than YouTube, reporting around 67 million monthly active users. But it has become a prime source of information for young conservatives and, after Donald Trump's election video, posted the triumphant message "We are the media now."
Ardoino praised Rumble's decision to operate its own cloud service, which means it does not have to rely on cloud giants like Google and Amazon to stay online. It's unclear if Tether will attempt to connect Rumble more directly to its other properties, but Ardoino said he believes stablecoins will become an integral part of social media in the future.
The large investment by Tether's owners in Rumble comes at a time when another tech billionaire, Elon Musk, has been turning the media landscape upside down through his control of X. Prior to the election, Musk used the platform to actively campaign for Trump and, this week, used it to pressure Congressional Republicans into tanking a key spending bill—partly by tweeting false information.
In this context, Tether's investment in Rumble could provide strategic value. For years, Tether has operated off-shore and been dogged by controversy over its popularity with criminals, but has more recently sought to work more closely with law enforcement and to legitimize itself in Washington, DC. Owning a media platform popular with Trump loyalists could help these efforts.
Ardoino, who describes himself as a libertarian, says Tether has no intention to interfere with the editorial autonomy of Rumble and that he hopes the platform can be decentralized and apolitical, unlike X, which he described as very centralized.
Tether's investment in Rumble is the company's second big investment outside of crypto. In September 2023, Tether took a stake in the cloud and AI firm Northern Data, which Ardoino said is part of his broader goal to build an independent tech network.
Following news of the Tether investment, Rumble shares climbed 35%. Chris Pavlovski, Rumble’s chairman and CEO, has the right to sell up to 10 million shares under the terms of the deal, and will retain a controlling stake in the company.
Investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald, whose CEO is an ardent crypto booster and Trump's pick to be the next Commerce Secretary, is acting as placement agent and dealer manager for Rumble.
