Tether’s Gold Hoard Surges to 116 Tons, Rivals Small Central Banks

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Markets

What to know:

  • Jefferies claimed that stablecoin issuer Tether has recently bought up notable volumes of gold, tightening supply and making the market feel a little… jittery.
  • The bank estimates that Tether now holds at least 116 tons, placing it among the world’s largest non-central bank holders-practically a tiny central bank in itself.
  • As USDT continues to grow, Tether’s profits soar, and their unabashed love for gold could keep the buying spree going, according to the report.

According to investment bank Jefferies, the recent surge in gold prices isn’t merely due to the usual suspects-no, this time, we have Tether playing the role of the unexpected villain… or hero? You decide. Their accumulation of substantial gold bullion is tightening supply and giving the precious metal a serious case of the jitters.

The bank’s report, which arrived on a decidedly thrilling Thursday, claims that Tether’s on-chain activity reveals the extent of their gold hoarding, contributing to a price spike that’s more than 50% this year. Gold is now flirting with $4,080 per ounce-an excellent price for anyone with a penchant for shiny things, like, say, a stablecoin issuer looking to diversify.

It all started when Tether’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino, made some remarks about adding gold to their reserves. As if that wasn’t enough, investors whispered in Jefferies’ ears about a planned 100-ton acquisition-because, why not? After all, if you can’t conquer the world with digital coins, why not with literal gold?

By the end of Q3, analysts led by Andrew Moss estimated that Tether was sitting on at least 116 tons of gold. This includes 12 tons backing their XAUt token (worth about $1.57 billion) and a whopping 104 tons behind their USDT (worth around $13.67 billion). If you’re wondering how that compares to central banks-well, let’s just say Tether is now on par with the small, but scrappy ones. Take that, national treasuries!

The pace of this accumulation is nothing short of breathtaking-around 26 tons in just one quarter, or about 2% of global demand. While Tether isn’t quite at the level of central-bank acquisition (yet), their buying spree has certainly shaken things up. The bullish sentiment? You can practically feel it in the air.

As USDT continues its steady growth and gold remains a favorite reserve, Tether is expected to keep adding to their hoard. And with Ardoino projecting a profit of $15 billion in 2025, Jefferies suggests that even half of that could be funneled into gold, meaning another 60 tons annually. If you’re keeping score, that’s a lot of shiny metal for a crypto company.

And while Tether’s new GENIUS Act-compliant stablecoin, USAT, won’t need gold reserves (because why complicate things?), its long-term impact on gold demand remains a mystery-perhaps one for another thrilling report in the future.

Meanwhile, Tether has invested more than $300 million this year into royalty and streaming companies in the gold space, further proving that their love affair with the precious metal is no passing fancy. The hiring of two top metals traders from HSBC only adds fuel to the fire-clearly, Tether’s gold ambitions are far from fizzling out. Hold onto your wallets, folks-gold fever is here to stay. 🤑

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2025-11-21 02:14