Tether, the company behind the USDT stablecoin, has made a big move: it’s stashed about $8 billion worth of gold (that’s 80 tons!) in its own super-secure vault in Switzerland. Their CEO, Paolo Ardoino, claims it’s the safest vault in the world and that gold is a safer bet than regular money. This isn’t new; they already had some gold, but this is a massive increase.
Why the Swiss Vault?
So, why did Tether build its own vault? Mainly to save money. Using outside companies to store gold is expensive. Ardoino pointed out that if their Tether Gold token gets really big (like, $100 billion big), the storage fees alone would be huge. Having their own vault cuts costs and makes it easier to add more gold later. Plus, it’s great publicity – showing everyone they have real assets backing their stablecoin.
More Than Just Gold
Tether’s reserves aren’t just gold. They also hold a ton of US Treasury bonds (almost $100 billion worth, according to their Q1 2025 report). The total amount of their reserves varies depending on how you look at it – somewhere between $112 billion and $160 billion. Even with this huge gold purchase, gold still only makes up a small percentage (under 5%) of their total reserves.
Gold’s Role in the Big Picture
USDT is a huge player in the stablecoin market, making up a significant portion (62%) of the total $250 billion market. But even with this massive gold purchase, gold is still a small part of Tether’s overall backing. It’s part of a mix of assets, including cash and bonds.
This gold move shows Tether is diversifying. It’s also following a trend – central banks, especially in BRICS countries, are buying more gold, and investors are piling into gold ETFs. Tether’s gold reserves are now comparable to major banks, but that still pales in comparison to the massive gold holdings of governments and huge financial institutions.