Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino revealed that the agency holds roughly $8 billion in gold in a Swiss vault throughout an interview with Bloomberg Information on July 7.
Ardoino referred to as the positioning “probably the most safe vault on the planet” and mentioned the corporate owns virtually your complete 80-ton stockpile outright, putting the El Salvador-based issuer among the many largest personal gold holders globally.
In keeping with a March attestation, gold now represents practically 5% of Tether’s $112 billion reserve portfolio. The stash’s greenback worth matches the dear metals e-book at UBS Group AG, one of many few bullion-dealing banks that get away these holdings.
Tether’s USDT reached a market capitalization of $159 billion final month, following practically $5 billion in month-to-month progress.
Ardoino argued that Tether can scale a gold program with out proportionally larger charges by self-custodying bullion as a substitute of utilizing business vault operators, which cost about 50 foundation factors.
Regulatory headwinds in key markets
Lawmakers on either side of the Atlantic are transferring in the wrong way. Draft US payments such because the GENIUS Act and Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Property (MiCA) framework enable solely money or near-cash devices to collateralize fiat-referenced stablecoins, excluding commodities like gold.
If these guidelines take impact and Tether seeks licenses in these jurisdictions, it must liquidate the bullion that backs USDT, though the corporate may retain steel tied to its gold-backed token, XAUT.
Notably, MiCA granted licenses to 53 crypto corporations within the first six months of regulation however excluded Tether.
XAUT circulates in opposition to 7.7 tons of gold, price roughly $819 million, which is nicely under the 950-ton large amongst exchange-traded gold funds however giant sufficient to make redemptions viable at vault doorways in Switzerland.
Ardoino mentioned demand may speed up if buyers lose confidence in US fiscal sustainability and search options that keep away from bank-deposit danger whereas remaining on-chain.
Market context and outlook for bullion-linked tokens
Spot gold has superior by roughly 25% in 2025 as merchants hedge tariff-driven commerce friction and wider geopolitical rigidity.
Ardoino mentioned:
“Each single central financial institution within the BRICS international locations is shopping for gold, so that’s the reason the value went up in our opinion.”
Tether should nonetheless persuade regulators {that a} metal-heavy reserve wouldn’t impede USDT’s liquidity underneath stress.
For now, the agency holds the steel, earns yield on Treasurys, and retains a separate token immediately convertible into vaulted bars, combining conventional bullion economics with blockchain settlement.
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