Tether Holds 150,000 Bitcoin, CEO Reveals at Lugano Forum

Tether holds 150,000 Bitcoin — Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated the company holds approximately 150,000 bitcoin, worth roughly $11.5 billion at current prices, during a keynote at the Plan ₿ Forum in Lugano, Switzerland.

This figure is about 50,000 BTC higher than the holdings implied by Tether’s most recent reserve attestation, published on October 30. That report listed $8.37 billion in bitcoin as of September 30, which equates to roughly 100,060 coins. Ardoino did not specify when the additional coins were acquired or whether they belong to the stablecoin issuer or its investment arm.

The gap likely stems from Tether’s policy of keeping investments made from profits separate from the reserves that back its USDT stablecoin. Coins held by Tether Investments would therefore not appear in the quarterly reserve attestation conducted by BDO.

With 150,000 bitcoin, Tether ranks among the largest corporate holders of the asset, behind only MicroStrategy’s massive treasury. The disclosure comes as Tether’s balance sheet shows increasing reliance on bitcoin and gold, which together exceed the company’s excess reserves by a wide margin.