Tether CEO says firm holds about 150,000 bitcoin, roughly 50,000 more than reserve report shows
Tether's chief says the company holds about 150,000 bitcoin
Tether, the company behind the USDT stablecoin, holds about 150,000 bitcoin worth roughly $11.5 billion, CEO Paolo Ardoino said. That figure is about 50,000 bitcoin higher than what the company's latest report on the reserves behind USDT appears to show.
Tether is the issuer of USDT, one of the largest dollar-pegged stablecoins. Stablecoins are crypto tokens meant to stay close to a fixed value, in this case the US dollar.
Ardoino made the remarks during a keynote speech at the Plan B Forum in Lugano, Switzerland. He said, "We have give or take 150,000 bitcoin ourselves. It's not much, but it's honest work."
Key numbers behind the claim
- Tether International's third-quarter reserve report, checked by accounting firm BDO, lists $8.37 billion in bitcoin, valued at $83,621.23 per coin. That works out to about 100,060 bitcoin.
- Tether said it holds about 150,000 bitcoin, worth $11.5 billion at the price used in the report. That is about 50,000 more than the reserve report implies.
- Bitcoin's reserve value rose about $2.57 billion in the third quarter, mostly because the price of bitcoin went up, not because of large new purchases.
- At the end of September, Tether reported $191.45 billion in reserve assets against $183.50 billion in liabilities, leaving $7.95 billion in excess reserves, up from $4.11 billion in June.
Where the extra coins are held is unknown
Ardoino did not say where the extra bitcoin are held or when the company acquired them. The report covers only the assets backing USDT. Holdings outside those reserves, such as Tether Investments, would not appear in it.
Tether has previously said its own investments, held through Tether Investments, are funded from excess capital and profits and kept separate from the reserves backing USDT. Ardoino did not confirm whether those holdings explain the gap, so it remains unconfirmed.
Tether also announced in May 2023 that it would regularly allocate up to 15% of its net realized operating profits to bitcoin purchases, holding the coins itself rather than using third-party custodians.
What is still unclear
It is not confirmed whether Tether's separate investment holdings account for the roughly 50,000 bitcoin difference. The company has not said when or where the additional coins are stored.
Why this matters
USDT is backed by assets such as cash, government bonds and bitcoin. How much bitcoin Tether holds matters to users and investors who track whether the stablecoin is properly backed.
Tether also said it has more than 730 million users worldwide, with growth of about 30 million wallets per quarter. A wallet is a digital account that can hold crypto and interact with blockchain apps.
Sources
Newisty Editorial Team covers technology, cryptocurrency, digital products, online platforms, developer tools and the wider digital economy. Our content is researched from official sources, company announcements, public documentation, market data and other primary or reputable sources. Articles are reviewed and edited before publication for clarity, accuracy and useful context.