One of the world’s largest crypto firms, Tether, is looking into new avenues of investment after a recent surge in profits for the digital assets industry.

The world’s biggest stablecoin holder is reportedly exploring investment opportunities in the gold mining industry, in an effort to convert digital assets equity into solid long-term income.

People familiar with the matter have told the FT the firm is not just seeking partial investment in a specific sector of the gold mining industry, but is rather interested in finding a footprint in the entire chain, from initial mining all the way to trading and royalties.

The news comes at a time when the global demand for stablecoins is on the rise, thanks to recent legislative support in a number of countries including the US.

There is also an increasing appetite for the institutional adoption of stablecoins, as jurisdictions around the world continue to introduce regulatory frameworks for the sector.

But despite its current market capitalisation of around $168 billion, many in the gold mining industry believe Tether may not have the knowledge or the strategy to succeed in an entirely different business ecosystem.

And despite recent surges in prices and adoption, many experts have warned that the ongoing stablecoin frenzy could lead to capital outflows and even financial instability in jurisdictions such as the EU.

American Bitcoin debut

It seems like we cannot have a weekly wrap these days without mentioning Donald Trump’s family investment and involvement in the crypto space. So, here it is.

American Bitcoin, a crypto venture backed by two of the President’s sons, saw a 110% surge in shares on its market debut on Monday, according to reports.

Eric Trump, the token’s co-founder and major shareholder, told the FT he was not competing with Trump Media and Technology (TMTG), his father’s bitcoin venture which is also investing heavily in bitcoin.

“When you see the facilities, [American Bitcoin] has a real skeleton, it has the backbone. It’s very different to a guy who gets together with his buddy in a dorm room to say we’re going to accumulate some bitcoin,” he was quoted saying.

President Trump and his family have been heavily involved in the crypto industry over the past year. The family’s ventures also include the Truth Social Bitcoin ETF, two memecoins belonging to the President and the First Lady, as well as a non-fungible token.

Trump has also pushed for a lighter regulation of the crypto industry since returning to the White House in January, leading to record surge in prices for digital assets.

At the same time, the President and his family have been criticised and accused of having a conflict of interest due to their influence and involvement in the crypto industry.

Holiday ruined

Enough with the Trump family (for now). How about a short story in this week’s roundup? It’s a story of three companies, and a holiday that never happened. For suspense, it also involves the FBI. Here we go.

Once upon a time a group of wealthy Russian speaking executives, entrepreneurs and celebrities decided to go on an expensive cruise ship holiday to the North Pole. The group of around 150 people hired a luxury icebreaker owned by Ponant, a company which is owned by the billionaire French Penault family.

The vessel, which was supposed to depart from the Norwegian Svalbard island in August, was chartered by TRVL, a Russian-owned, Dubai-based travel company. And to pay for the luxury trip, Ponant and TVRL decided to use the services of Evita Investments, a Delaware-registered payment broker owned by Russian entrepreneur Iurii Gugnin.

Everything seemed to be going according to plan. But then the FBI got involved and arrested someone (as they usually do) and caused the trip to be cancelled. Gugin was arrested by the FBI in June and charged by prosectors with sanctions violations and money laundering. This meant that the transaction between TRVL and Ponant never happened.

Now, TRVL has decided to take Ponant to court. The FT say it has seen documents showing that TRVL is accusing Ponant of failure to repay $5.8m of the $8.5m chartering costs.

You may ask what all of this has got to do with crypto. US prosecutors are accusing Gugnin of having links with Russian and Iranian officials and, here comes your answer, of using his crypto company for laundering dirty money. However, the charge sheet does not specifically refer to any payments or transactions involved in the planned luxury trip.