Tether has accumulated about 140 tons of physical gold, a stockpile valued at roughly $23 billion at current prices. CEO Paolo Ardoino told Bloomberg that the company could soon become one of the world’s largest “gold central banks.” According to the report, Tether typically buys directly from Swiss refiners and major global financial institutions, with the metal stored in a Swiss Cold War-era bunker after delivery.
Tether moves into the top tier of known gold holders
By disclosed size, Tether now ranks among the largest known holders of physical gold outside sovereigns and the banking system, placing it within the world’s top 30 gold holders. Its position is reported to exceed the reserves of countries including Greece, Qatar, and Australia. While the company had been building exposure to gold for years, its large-scale buying accelerated in 2025. In that year alone, Tether bought more than 70 tons, making it one of the three largest gold buyers globally.
Ardoino said Tether is currently purchasing around 1 to 2 tons per week and expects to keep that pace for the next few months, with demand reviewed on a quarterly basis after that. The company is also evaluating trading strategies to capture arbitrage opportunities from its gold reserves and is working on what Ardoino described as a best-in-class gold dealing operation to compete with banks such as JPMorgan and HSBC. To build out the desk, Tether hired two veteran metals traders last year: former HSBC global head of metals trading Vincent Domien and former EMEA head of precious metals sourcing Mathew O'Neill.
From mining royalties to XAU₮, the gold strategy is widening
Tether has also invested in several Canadian mid-sized gold royalty companies, including Elemental Royalty, Metalla Royalty & Streaming, Versamet Royalties, and Gold Royalty, using equity stakes to secure future production and revenue streams. On the product side, Tether launched its gold-backed token Tether Gold, or XAU₮, in 2020. By the end of last year, the token was backed by 16.2 tons of physical gold.
Tether recently added a new denomination for XAU₮ called Scudo, where 1 Scudo represents one-thousandth of a troy ounce of gold. CoinGecko data showed that as of January 28, XAU₮ had reached a circulating market capitalization of $2.7 billion, up about 91.3% over the past year. The token held a 49.5% share of the tokenized gold market, keeping the top spot.
$15 billion in profit gives Tether room to scale
Tether’s push into gold is backed by the large capital pool generated by its stablecoin business. Fortune reported that Tether posted about $15 billion in net profit in 2025, up from $13 billion a year earlier, with a global workforce of only about 200 employees. The base of that earnings engine remains USDT. CoinGecko data showed that as of January 28, 2026, USDT circulation was close to $187 billion. Artemis Analytics said total stablecoin transaction volume rose 72% in 2025 to $33 trillion, with USDT contributing $13.3 trillion, or more than 33% of the total.
Tether is also pressing into the U.S. market. On January 27, it launched the federally regulated stablecoin USAT, issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, with Cantor Fitzgerald serving as designated reserve custodian and preferred primary dealer, and Bo Hines as CEO. The report said Tether wants to use investments in platforms such as Rumble to put USAT in front of 100 million U.S. users, while setting a five-year target of $1 trillion in market value.
Across reserves, Tether holds about $135 billion in U.S. Treasuries, a level that places it ahead of sovereign holders such as South Korea and makes it the world’s 17th-largest holder of Treasuries. Since 2023, the company has also allocated 15% of monthly net profits to regular Bitcoin purchases. It now holds more than 96,000 BTC at an average cost of roughly $51,000. Beyond gold and Bitcoin, Tether has expanded investments into satellite communications, AI data centers, agriculture, telecom, and media.