Overview
- Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino disclosed Tuesday at the Plan ₿ Forum in Lugano that the company holds about 150,000 Bitcoin, a figure he presented without a wallet-by-wallet breakdown.
- Tether’s Q3 attestation dated Sept. 30 and prepared by BDO values Bitcoin held in USDT reserves at $8.37 billion, implying roughly 100,060 BTC and showing $191.45 billion in total reserve assets with $7.95 billion in excess reserves.
- Tether says Bitcoin purchases funded from corporate profits are kept separate from the assets backing USDT, but Ardoino did not specify which entity or custody arrangements hold the additional roughly 50,000 coins worth about $3.8 billion.
- Analysts note that much of Tether’s reported surplus rose from market gains in Bitcoin and gold rather than cash earnings, and they warn that mark-to-market gains are not the same as immediately available cash for redemptions.
- Tether is financing broader projects such as Bitcoin mining, energy kiosks, wallets and AI from its profits and has begun formal audits, so markets and regulators will be watching for a published custody schedule and clearer liquidity disclosures.