Tether moved 8,888.8888888 BTC into its official reserve address, bringing its total Bitcoin holdings to 96,185 BTC. The transfer took place on Jan. 1, 2026 as part of the company’s fourth-quarter 2025 acquisition plan. CEO Paolo Ardoino said the firm had completed its Q4 purchase schedule and added the coins to official reserves.
Quarterly accumulation followed a familiar pattern
According to blockchain monitoring platform Ember CN, Tether bought about 9,850 BTC during the quarter, worth roughly $876 million. The reported activity included a withdrawal of 961 BTC from Bitfinex on Nov. 7, 2025, followed by the larger transfer of 8,888.8 BTC on the first day of 2026. The source article said this approach matches the treasury policy introduced in May 2023, under which Tether allocates 15% of quarterly profits to crypto purchases and usually shifts those reserves at quarter-end or at the start of the next quarter.
Reserve wallet value climbs above $8.4 billion
After the latest transfer, Tether’s public reserve address held Bitcoin worth about $8.42 billion. Ember CN estimated the average acquisition cost at roughly $51,117 per BTC. Using a market price near $87,500, that implied an unrealized gain of about $3.524 billion. The same report said the address ranked as the world’s fifth-largest Bitcoin wallet.
Bitcoin slipped slightly as other companies kept buying
At the time cited in the material, Bitcoin was trading around $87,550, down about 0.9% to 1% over 24 hours. CoinMarketCap data in the source placed the day’s low at $87,130 and the high at $89,080, with total market capitalization near $1.7 trillion. Other corporate buyers were also active. The article said Metaplanet had recently purchased 4,279 BTC, taking its holdings to 35,102 BTC. Strategy, led by Michael Saylor, bought 1,229 BTC for $108.8 million at an average price of $88,568 during the market dip.
Ardoino has also commented publicly on Bitcoin’s long-term outlook and possible market risks. In a recent post, he warned that a potential “AI investment bubble” in 2026 could affect the crypto market.