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Tether Holds 150,000 Bitcoin, CEO Says—About 50,000 More Than Its Reserve Report Shows
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Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the stablecoin issuer now holds about 150,000 Bitcoin, worth roughly $11.5 billion at current prices. Speaking at the Plan ₿ Forum in Lugano, Switzerland, Ardoino described the holding as “give or take 150,000 bitcoin” and framed it as “honest work.” The figure is notable because it exceeds what Tether’s third-quarter reserve attestation implies by some 50,000 coins. Tether has long said its corporate Bitcoin investments sit separately from the reserves backing its USDT stablecoin.
Tether’s Q3 attestation lists $8.37 billion of Bitcoin valued at $83,621 per coin, which implies roughly 100,060 BTC. That leaves about 50,000 coins, worth close to $3.8 billion, unaccounted for in the public filing. Ardoino did not say where the additional Bitcoin is held or when it was acquired. His comment therefore does not indicate a fresh purchase of that size, and it leaves open how the extra holdings are structured.
Tether has been accumulating Bitcoin for years. In May 2023, the company said it would direct up to 15% of net realized operating profits into Bitcoin and custody the coins itself rather than rely on third-party custodians. The strategy has been supported by large profits: Tether reported $1.5 billion in net operating profit in the third quarter alone and has posted billion-dollar quarterly profits throughout the year. Its USDT supply has continued to grow over the same period.
The Q3 reserve report shows $191.45 billion in assets against $183.50 billion in liabilities, leaving an excess cushion of $7.95 billion. That is nearly double the $4.11 billion buffer reported in June. U.S. Treasury bills remain the bulk of reserves at about $132.4 billion. The figures suggest Tether’s stablecoin reserves remain heavily weighted toward short-term government debt.
The disclosure gap is sensitive for Tether, which has faced years of scrutiny over whether USDT is fully backed. The company began its first full financial audit with KPMG this year, a long-awaited step toward addressing those doubts. Ardoino’s Lugano remarks add a new data point: Tether’s corporate Bitcoin holdings may be larger than its attestations show. They also underscore the difference between assets backing USDT and the company’s own investments.
Ardoino also used the appearance to tout Tether’s scale. He said the company now serves more than 730 million users worldwide and is adding roughly 30 million wallets a quarter. He pitched a suite of open-source technologies funded by Tether’s profits. Those comments place the Bitcoin disclosure alongside Tether’s broader push into infrastructure and adoption programs.
The key question is whether Tether will provide more detail on the extra Bitcoin. Because Ardoino did not specify timing or custody, the 150,000 figure may reflect holdings accumulated over time rather than a single new purchase. As Tether’s audit process advances, investors and regulators are likely to watch how corporate Bitcoin is disclosed. Clearer reporting could help close the gap between public attestations and management’s public statements.
