🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Bitcoin purchases are part of a broader asset diversification strategy

• Tether says it will put up to 15% of net realized operating profits into bitcoin 1.
• The company says it pays for those buys with excess capital and profits, kept separate from the reserves backing issued USDT tokens 2.
• Gold also sits in the mix, with about US$12.9 billion held in reserves, and Tether has discussed putting more money into mining firms plus royalty companies that fund mines for a slice of future revenue 3, 4.
• CEO Paolo Ardoino says bitcoin and gold can protect against fiat currency devaluation, meaning a drop in the buying power of government issued money, and he has called gold the “natural Bitcoin” 4, 1.
• These “hard assets” sit next to reserve holdings that Tether says are mostly cash and cash equivalents, with heavy exposure to U.S. Treasury bills and related instruments 5.

Tether’s reserve strategy makes it a significant player in traditional financial markets

• A report put Tether’s U.S. Treasury holdings at about US$135 billion, more than South Korea, which would rank it 17th worldwide 6.
• That same report tied the move to a broader shift as stablecoin issuers, the companies behind cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a stable value, buy more Treasuries while countries such as China adjust their positions 6.
• Tether said net profits topped US$10 billion in 2025, with commentary linking much of that to interest income from Treasury holdings 3, 2.
• USDT runs across global digital markets, and Tether says its ecosystem has more than 530 million users worldwide 2.