The investing arm of the stablecoin giant previously owned 1.8 per cent of the firm, which invests in gold and other precious metals mining royalties and has a market capitalization of $378 million. Tether Investments purchased the shares from Luxembourg fund La Mancha Investments and has an option to eventually increase its stake to 47.7 per cent by purchasing additional shares from Abu Dhabi’s Alpha 1. (The Logic)

Talking point: The investment increases Tether’s presence in Canada, despite the fact securities regulators have restricted the use of its controversial stablecoin. Tether has previously invested in Toronto-based video platform Rumble and iFinex, Tether’s owner, is a shareholder in Canadian bitcoin company Blockstream. In a release, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said investing in Elemental aligns with the company’s belief in the importance of gold to financial markets and will help the firm eventually launch digital assets backed by commodities. The reserves backing Tether have long been under scrutiny, which is ramping up under proposed new stablecoin rules in the U.S.