Tether’s Gold Reserves Now Rival Mid-Sized Nations as Holdings Surpass $23 Billion

Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin, has quietly become one of the biggest gold buyers on the planet.

New analysis from Wall Street investment bank Jefferies shows the company’s bullion reserves surged to unprecedented levels in late 2025 and the opening weeks of 2026, placing the private crypto firm among the top 30 gold holders globally, ahead of several nation states.

According to Jefferies’ estimate, Tether held 148 tonnes of physical gold as of Jan. 31, 2026, worth approximately $23 billion. The company acquired around 26 tonnes during the final quarter of 2025 and another 6 tonnes in January alone, a pace of accumulation surpassed only by Brazil and Poland over the same period. Most other central banks bought significantly less.

A Private Company Buying at Nation-State Scale

The scale of Tether’s gold purchases is now comparable to those of mid-sized sovereign reserves. Jefferies’ analysis indicates the stablecoin issuer has accumulated more bullion than countries such as Australia, the UAE, Qatar, South Korea and Greece, a striking development in an era where central banks have been aggressively diversifying their reserves.

Tether’s gold serves two purposes:

it supports a portion of the reserves backing USDT, the company’s dollar-pegged stablecoin,
and it underpins XAUT, Tether’s tokenized gold asset.

The firm’s own disclosures suggest a minimum of 126 tonnes were recognized in audited reserves at the end of 2025, valued at roughly $17 billion using year-end gold prices. Jefferies believes the true figure is likely higher, noting that as a privately held company, Tether may also hold additional bullion outside the attested reserves.

Meanwhile, supply of Tether Gold (XAUT) rose to 712,000 tokens by the end of January, equivalent to around 6 tonnes of newly added physical backing, reflecting strong demand from retail buyers, particularly in emerging markets.

Riding Gold’s Historic Rally

The firm’s buying spree has unfolded during a dramatic surge in gold prices. The metal climbed to an all-time high above $5,000 per ounce in January, extending a rally that began last September and lifted prices nearly 50%.

Analysts attribute this momentum to:

record demand from central banks,
rising long-duration bond yields,
and a growing appetite among investors to diversify away from the U.S. dollar.

A Long-Term Strategic Shift

Tether’s leadership has signaled that gold will remain a core part of its reserve strategy. CEO Paolo Ardoino previously said the company intends to allocate 10% to 15% of its investment portfolio to physical bullion, a plan that Jefferies notes is already being executed in practice.

Tether’s total investment portfolio reached $20 billion at the end of last year, according to CoinDesk reporting, meaning the company’s gold footprint may continue expanding as it formalizes and scales its allocation strategy.