Overview
Tether intends to allocate a meaningful slice of its investment holdings to physical gold, the firm's chief executive told Reuters. Paolo Ardoino said the crypto group is targeting around 10% of its own portfolio in bitcoin and between 10% and 15% in gold. He did not disclose the total monetary value of the investment portfolio or the precise value represented by the physical gold holdings.
Current bullion holdings and buying cadence
The company, headquartered in El Salvador, reported holding about 130 metric tons of physical gold after a 27-ton addition in the fourth quarter. Ardoino said Tether has been purchasing roughly two tons of gold per week. The organisation intends to retain ownership of the bullion stored in Switzerland and has no fixed long-term target for how much gold it will accumulate - decisions on purchases will be made quarterly.
Rationale and timing
According to Ardoino, the buying program began in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and continued as geopolitical tensions increased. He said much of the gold has been bought with company profits. Ardoino described the current global environment as unsettled, saying "The world is not in a happy place at this moment. Gold is making all-time highs every single day. Why? Because everyone is scared." The company highlighted gold's strong recent performance - last year the gold price jumped 64% - and noted that prices have risen 22% so far this year, including a record high of $5,311 a troy ounce on Wednesday driven by buying amid falling confidence in the dollar and concerns around the independence of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Use of gold within Tether's products
Tether said the physical gold it holds backs some of its products. The firm recently bought substantial amounts of bullion to support the Tether USDT stablecoin and the Tether XAUT gold token. USDT is a dollar-pegged stablecoin with $186 billion worth of tokens in circulation, while Tether's XAUT gold token has $2.7 billion in circulation.
Reserves, investments and profitability
Ardoino noted Tether invests the reserves that back USDT in U.S. Treasury bills and other assets. He also said the company has allocated its own profits into a range of assets, including U.S. Treasuries, bitcoin, the technology sector, gold royalty firms and other holdings. Ardoino said he expects Tether's 2026 profit to exceed an estimated $10 billion for 2025 and possibly top the $13.7 billion reported for 2024.
Scale and operations
The company employs about 250 people, according to Ardoino. While he outlined plans for a material allocation to gold, he stopped short of setting a single fixed target for bullion buying and reiterated that the company will reassess and make decisions on a quarterly basis.
Note: The article reports direct statements from the company's CEO and figures supplied by the company regarding holdings, token circulation and profit expectations. Some financial details, such as the total value of Tether's investment portfolio and the precise monetary value of its gold holdings, were not disclosed.