- Tether holds greater than 140 tonnes of bodily gold value roughly $23 billion.
- The gold is saved in a closely guarded former nuclear bunker in Switzerland.
- This holding makes Tether the biggest identified personal holder of gold outdoors of banks and nation-states.
Main stablecoin issuer Tether has amassed over 140 tonnes of bodily gold, value roughly $23 billion. The issuer of the USDT stablecoin shops its reserves in one among 370,000 former nuclear bunkers in Switzerland.
Curiously, this holding makes Tether the biggest identified holder of gold amongst personal establishments. In accordance with Bloomberg, its holdings exceed even the official gold reserves of many small international locations.
The dimensions of the buildup places Tether in a class historically occupied by sovereign nations, central banks, and main exchange-traded funds. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated Tether’s method to gold mirrors that of central banks. The corporate values gold’s liquidity and function as a reserve asset freed from counterparty threat.
Gold saved in a Swiss nuclear bunker
The gold bullion is saved in a former nuclear bunker in Switzerland. This web site was chosen for its safety, infrastructure, and long-term storage capabilities.
Switzerland stays one of many world’s most necessary facilities for gold refining and storage. A lot of the world’s bodily gold passes via the nation earlier than reaching its last vacation spot.
Tether didn’t reveal the precise location of the bunker, citing security causes. The corporate confirmed that the gold is held straight and never on the written request of a 3rd get together.
Regular purchases promote accumulation
Tether has been steadily buying gold slightly than a one-time buy. The corporate was shopping for between 1 and a couple of tonnes of gold every week at sure instances, in response to trade knowledge and firm disclosures.
Over the previous 12 months, Tether’s complete gold purchases have exceeded these of almost each particular person central financial institution. Fewer governments reported additional will increase in web additions over the identical interval.
The corporate reported buying 27 tonnes within the fourth quarter of 2025. This was 1 ton greater than within the third quarter. Tether bought a complete of over 70 tons in 2025. For context, the Central Financial institution of Poland is presently essentially the most lively purchaser amongst central banks, buying 35 tonnes within the fourth quarter and a complete of 102 tonnes to extend its reserves to 550 tonnes.
“We now function the Tether Gold Funding Fund at a scale that rivals sovereign gold holders, and that provides us actual duty,” Ardoino stated in an announcement from Tether.
Hyperlinks to digital property and reserves
Tether points USDT, the world’s largest stablecoin by market capitalization, with $187 billion of tokens in circulation. The corporate additionally operates XAU₮, a gold-backed digital token value $2.7 billion. Every XAU₮ token represents possession of 1 troy ounce of bodily gold.
Whereas a few of Tether’s gold holdings again gold-linked tokens, the majority of the steel makes up the corporate’s intensive company reserves. The corporate says gold performs a task in diversifying the property backing its digital merchandise. Tether’s reserves additionally embrace U.S. Treasury payments and money equivalents.
Demand for tokenized gold drives Tether purchases
On-chain tracker Lookonchain reported that a number of massive buyers have just lately withdrawn hundreds of thousands of {dollars} value of gold-linked tokens equivalent to XAUT and PAXG from the alternate. This exhibits that some buyers are shifting away from Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies to gold.
Curiosity in gold has elevated in current weeks amid financial uncertainty and geopolitical tensions. Bodily gold has hit an all-time excessive, pushed by demand for safe-haven property. Because of this, Tether continues to build up bodily gold to fulfill the equal demand for tokenized gold.
Improve your presence within the gold market
Past holding bullion, Tether is taking steps to broaden its function within the gold sector. The corporate has employed skilled treasured metals merchants and has been exploring alternatives in gold buying and selling and logistics.
The corporate additionally disclosed investments in gold mining-related companies, together with Canadian-based royalties and shares in mining corporations. These strikes display a broader technique to achieve publicity throughout totally different components of the gold provide chain.
Influence on world gold traits
Giant gold consumers can affect market situations, particularly in periods of robust investor demand. Central banks have been web consumers of gold lately resulting from foreign money issues and geopolitical dangers.
The emergence of Tether as a significant personal holder has added a brand new participant to that pattern. Analysts say nobody firm can management the market, however continued purchases of this scale might impression availability.
Gold costs have been buying and selling at file ranges for the previous few weeks on robust demand from institutional buyers and the federal government sector. For context, gold soared to an all-time excessive of over $5,200 this week after rising 64% in 2025.
Associated: Tether freezes $182 million USDT in 5 Tron wallets
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