Tether said it bought 8,888 bitcoin on New Year’s Eve, lifting its disclosed holdings to more than 96,000 BTC to close out 2025.
CEO Paolo Ardoino said the latest purchase was worth about $780 million at the time.
Accumulation strategy
The stablecoin issuer has been allocating up to 15% of its earnings into bitcoin every three months.
Tether’s main bitcoin address is now the fifth-largest, behind Binance, Robinhood, and Bitfinex, according to the report.
The company is also listed as the second-largest privately held corporate bitcoin treasury.
Reserve scrutiny and gold buying
Bitcoin is not Tether’s only hard-asset allocation.
The company previously bought 26 tons of gold in Q3 2025, taking total gold holdings to 116 tons.
Reuters reported that S&P cut USDT’s score from “constrained” to “weak,” citing transparency and concentration risks.
Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes also raised concerns about the growing bitcoin and gold share of reserves.
Transfers and related treasuries
Tether’s bitcoin holdings have fluctuated during the year.
After its first-quarter purchase, it held over 100,000 BTC, prompting speculation it was selling.
Ardoino denied the claims, saying the bitcoin had been contributed to “XXI,” referring to Twenty One Capital.
Ardoino said in a post:
“It had contributed to ‘XXI,’ referring to Twenty One Capital.”
Twenty One Capital held 43,514 BTC as of New Year’s Day.
The purchase also comes as corporate accumulation continued, including Japan-listed Metaplanet raising its treasury to 35,102 BTC.
