Tether Surpasses Central Banks with 146-Tonne Gold Reserve

Tether, the issuer of the world's largest stablecoin USDT, has accelerated its gold reserve buildup. In the second quarter, Tether purchased 14 tonnes of physical gold, bringing its total reserves backing USDT to over 146 tonnes with a value of approximately $18.8 billion.

This scale makes Tether the largest known gold holder outside of banks and nation-states. CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that the company continued to expand its gold allocation while reducing secured lending by $2.38 billion.

The timing of this increase is notable, as it occurred during a sharp quarterly decline in gold prices, which plummeted 14% in the second quarter. Tether's buying pace was faster than the first quarter but slower than the fourth quarter of last year when it accumulated over 21 tonnes.