Tether Purchases 8,888 BTC, Becomes Fifth Largest Bitcoin Wallet

Tether Buys 8,888 BTC for New Year

Tether wrapped up 2025 with the acquisition of 8,888 BTC, increasing its Bitcoin reserves to over 96,000 BTC, announced the company’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino. The issuer of the USDt (USDT) stablecoin has emerged as one of the largest active holders of Bitcoin, positioning its wallet as the fifth largest, following Binance, Robinhood, and Bitfinex, and securing second place among private company Bitcoin treasuries.

This strategic move is part of Tether's quarterly Bitcoin accumulation strategy. The company has been investing up to 15% of its revenues in Bitcoin every three months. The latest batch was valued at approximately $780 million at the time of purchase.

Additionally, Tether acquired 26 tons of gold in the third quarter of 2025, making it a larger purchase than any reported central bank acquisition and bringing its total holdings to 116 tons, ranking among the top 30 gold holders worldwide. This combination of U.S. Treasury securities, Bitcoin, and gold has drawn attention from rating agencies and analysts, with S&P recently downgrading USDT's rating from "constrained" to "weak" due to transparency and concentration risks.

Questions have risen regarding Tether’s Bitcoin holdings, which have fluctuated throughout the year. After the initial purchase in the first quarter, the company had over 100,000 BTC. However, Ardoino refuted claims of any Bitcoin sales and mentioned his involvement with “XXI,” referring to Twenty One Capital, a Tether-backed company that held 43,514 BTC at the beginning of the year.