Tether’s gold hoard nears $20 billion as buying spree continues

Tether Holdings SA bought more than six tons of gold for its reserves in the first three months of the year, extending a buying streak that’s made it the largest known holder of bullion in the world outside of banks and nation states.

The value of the crypto giant’s gold reserves stood at $19.8 billion at the end of March, according to a quarterly report on its holdings, which equates to 132 tons of bullion based on spot prices. Gold was exceptionally volatile over the quarter, soaring to a record high near $5,600 in January before being hit with a series of sharp selloffs, most recently due to the outbreak of the US-Iran war.

The first-quarter purchases still make Tether one of the largest individual buyers in the market, but it was buying at a markedly slower pace than the previous quarter. It snapped up more than 21 tons of gold for its reserves in the final three months of 2025.

The crypto firm recently cut two senior precious metals traders, just months after hiring them from HSBC Holdings Plc to create what it called “the best trading floor for gold in the world.”

Commenting on the departures last month, the company said “it always strives to operate with a lean team” and will leverage expertise gathered from recent investments in the gold industry. Tether in February acquired a stake in US-based precious metals dealer Gold.com Inc, which has a large trading and logistics operation.

Such were the scale of Tether’s disclosed purchases through 2025, that some market watchers pointed to their small, but not insignificant, role in shifting global prices.

“It has been material,” Greg Shearer, head of precious and base metals research at JPMorgan Chase & Co, said in an interview on Friday, prior to Tether’s latest quarterly report. The crypto giant bought more gold than any central bank except Poland through the course of last year, he noted.

Tether is the issuer of USDT, the world’s largest dollar-pegged stablecoin with about $190 billion in circulation. It makes money by taking in dollars in exchange for USDT, and investing them in Treasuries and other assets like bullion.

It generated a net profit of just over $1 billion in the first quarter, adding to a haul of more than $10 billion in 2025.

(By Jack Ryan)