Tether’s Bitcoin Treasury Staggers: It Accumulated 150,000 BTC

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino announced that the company’s total Bitcoin holdings have reached approximately 150,000 $BTC, with a current value of $11.5 billion.

Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, one of the world’s largest stablecoin issuers, said the company holds approximately 150,000 Bitcoin. This amount, which Ardoino revealed at the Plan ₿ Forum in Lugano, was worth approximately $11.5 billion at the time of publication.

The total disclosed amount is approximately 50,000 $BTC more than what can be calculated from Tether’s latest report on $USDT reserves. The third-quarter reserve report, certified by BDO, shows Bitcoin worth $8.37 billion. Calculations based on the valuation price in the report indicate that there are approximately 100,060 $BTC in $USDT reserves.

According to the report at the end of June, this amount was approximately 98,930 $BTC. Accordingly, the number of Bitcoins supporting $USDT reserves increased by approximately 1,130 $BTC in the third quarter. The majority of the $2.57 billion increase in the value of Bitcoin in the reserve portfolio stemmed not from new purchases, but from the rise in Bitcoin’s price.

Ardoino did not disclose where the approximately 50,000 Bitcoin not listed in the reserve report is held or when it was purchased. Therefore, the statement does not mean that Tether recently purchased 50,000 $BTC in a single transaction.

The company had previously stated that private investments, financed with excess capital and profits, were held separately from $USDT reserves under the umbrella of Tether Investments. While it’s possible the difference stems from these investments, Ardoino did not directly confirm this.

Tether announced in May 2023 that it would allocate up to 15% of its net operating profit to regular Bitcoin purchases. The company also stated its plan to hold Bitcoins under its own control rather than through third-party custodians. Its latest reserve report shows assets of $191.45 billion against liabilities of $183.50 billion.

*This is not investment advice.