Tether now holds $122 billion in U.S. Treasury bills, equal to 83.11% of its total reserves, according to Bo Hines, the executive leading the company’s USA₮ initiative. Speaking at Bitcoin Investor Week in New York, Hines said that level would place Tether among the top 20 holders of U.S. government debt globally, ahead of Germany and Israel. He also said the company is aiming to become one of the world’s top 10 buyers of U.S. Treasuries by 2026.
USDT remains global while USA₮ is built for the U.S. market
The source describes Tether’s strategy as a two-track model. USDT remains its flagship stablecoin for international markets, with about $185 billion in circulation. USA₮, by contrast, is presented as a compliant dollar stablecoin designed for the United States. The project is said to operate under the requirements of the GENIUS Act, with Anchorage Digital Bank as issuer and Cantor Fitzgerald handling reserve custody and primary dealer functions. It is also described as being backed 1:1 by high-quality liquid assets.
That setup splits Tether’s business into two lanes. USDT continues to serve global demand, especially in emerging markets and cross-border transfers, while USA₮ is positioned for regulated domestic use in the U.S. The company has also built an interoperability mechanism between the two tokens. USA₮ is already listed on Bybit, Crypto.com, Kraken, OKX, and Moonpay.
Treasury demand rises with stablecoin issuance
The U.S. Treasury market is roughly $36 trillion in size. Tether’s holdings are small in that broader context, but the company has become a meaningful participant in the short-dated Treasury bill segment, where securities mature in less than one year and are widely used as reserve assets by stablecoin issuers.
Based on the figures cited in the report, every additional $1 of USDT issuance implies roughly $0.83 of Treasury bill purchases by Tether. The company also said it is adding around 30 million users each quarter. If that pace continues, demand for short-term U.S. government debt from Tether’s reserve operations would likely keep expanding as well.
Gold holdings and excess reserves add to the reserve base
Hines also said Tether holds 140 metric tons of gold, which he described as making the company the world’s 13th-largest gold holder. In addition, an attestation by BDO was cited as showing $6.3 billion in excess reserves. Those figures point to a reserve structure that extends beyond cash and Treasury bills alone.
The report also notes that Tether’s earnings remain closely tied to U.S. interest rates because so much of its reserve base sits in short-term government paper. With the Federal Reserve already in a rate-cutting cycle, the size and speed of future cuts would have a direct effect on the interest income generated from those holdings.
Stablecoin growth is becoming more closely linked to U.S. debt markets
Tether’s public comments show how tightly stablecoin expansion is now tied to the market for U.S. government debt. Each dollar-denominated token needs liquid reserve assets behind it, and short-term Treasuries sit at the center of that structure. Hines framed the goal in broader terms, saying the company wants to ensure that the U.S. dollar not only keeps its dominance in the digital era, but continues to grow.