Key Highlights
- Tether has invested around $779 million in Bitcoin, increasing its total Bitcoin holdings to 96,000 BTC.
- The USDT issuer has been channeling nearly 15% of its earnings into BTC every three months.
- The company currently has over $140 billion worth of USDT tokens in circulation.
Tether, the issuer of stablecoin USDT, announced the acquisition of 8,888 Bitcoin (BTC), valued at around $779 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. The transaction was confirmed in an X post by Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino on Thursday.
The company now holds more than 96,000 Bitcoin, which is worth close to $8.4 billion. The development is part of Tether’s quarterly Bitcoin accumulation strategy, under which the USDT issuer has been channeling nearly 15% of its earnings into BTC every three months.
Tether has become one of the largest corporate Bitcoin holders, placing fifth among privately held BTC treasuries. The company is now behind Binance, Robinhood, and Bitfinex.
Bitcoin strategy along with diversification
Tether’s purchase aligns with its broader reserve strategy, which includes Bitcoin as a core asset along with cash, gold, and U.S. Treasuries. The company currently has over $140 billion worth of USDT tokens in circulation.
The company has also been accumulating physical gold as part of its diversification strategy. Tether, as of the third quarter of 2025, holds nearly 116 metric tons of physical gold. This accumulation makes it the largest non-sovereign (private) gold holder in the world.
Aligning with major players
The purchase strategy comes at a time when multiple corporate firms have made moves to expand their Bitcoin holdings. For instance, on December 29, 2025, Bitcoin treasury firm Strategy announced the purchase of 1,229 BTC for nearly $108.8 million, pushing its total Bitcoin holdings to 672,497 BTC.
Similarly, on December 30, Japan-based Bitcoin treasury company Metaplant announced that it had purchased 4,279 BTC for approximately $451 million during the fourth quarter of 2025. These purchases signal that multiple big corporations are quite bullish on the largest cryptocurrency for 2026 despite recent market volatility.
BTC purchase amid setbacks
Tether has recently come under scrutiny regarding its transparency. In December, S&P Global downgraded Tether’s stablecoin rating to “weak,” the lowest grade on its five-point stablecoin risk scale.
Moreover, the company’s purchase comes a month after it announced plans to shut down its Bitcoin mining operations in Latin America. In November, the stablecoin issuer announced that, after failing to secure favorable energy pricing, it would close its mining operations in Uruguay.
Broader context
Tether’s latest Bitcoin purchase highlights its long-term strategy of diversifying reserves while increasing exposure to BTC. Despite scrutiny and the closure of its mining operations, the move places the stablecoin issuer among the largest corporate Bitcoin holders.
The firm’s continued allocation to Bitcoin, along with other assets, indicates a strategy focused on balancing exposure across multiple asset classes.
