The purchase of 8,888 bitcoins was part of Tether's quarterly strategy to increase its Bitcoin reserves.
Every three months, the company allocates up to 15% of its profits to cryptocurrency purchases. The latest purchase cost approximately $780 million. Currently, Tether's wallet is among the largest by Bitcoin holdings, along with Binance, Robinhood, and Bitfinex.
Throughout 2025, the amount of BTC in Tether's accounts decreased periodically. After its first quarterly purchase, the company held over 100,000 BTC, but the balance later decreased. This sparked rumors that Tether was selling its cryptocurrency. Ardoino denied these speculations, explaining that some of the assets were sent to Twenty One Capital, a Tether-backed company. As of January 1, Twenty One Capital held 43,514 BTC, ranking third among publicly traded companies by Bitcoin reserves, behind Mara Holdings and Strategy.
Tether's increase in reserves comes amid a general trend among companies to acquire Bitcoin. Japanese Metaplanet added another 4,279 BTC to its portfolio on December 31, increasing its total holdings to 35,102 BTC.
In addition to Bitcoin, Tether is actively investing in gold. In the third quarter of 2025, the company purchased 26 tonnes of the precious metal—more than the quarterly purchases of any reported central bank. Tether's total gold reserves have reached 116 tonnes, placing it among the top 30 global gold holders.
However, the combination of US Treasury bonds, Bitcoin, and gold in Tether's reserves has attracted the attention of rating agencies and experts. S&P recently downgraded USDT from "constrained" to "weak" due to risks related to transparency and asset concentration.