Tether Holds About $23B in Gold, Ranks Among Top 30 Globally

Stablecoin issuer Tether expanded its gold reserves to roughly 148 tons worth about $23 billion as of Jan. 31, placing it among the world's top 30 gold holders and above several sovereign states, a Feb. 9 Jefferies report cited by CoinDesk shows. The firm added about 26 tons in Q4 2024 and roughly 6 more tons in January, with quarterly purchases trailing only a few central banks including Poland and Brazil, and now exceeding reserves of Australia, the UAE, Qatar, South Korea and Greece. The gold primarily backs Tether's USDT stablecoin and gold-linked token XAUT; Jefferies noted that as a private company, Tether may disclose only minimum figures, while CEO Paolo Ardoino previously said the firm plans to allocate 10%–15% of its portfolio to physical gold.