Tether Deepens Gold Exposure as Global Demand Drives Prices
- Tether added about 27 tons of gold in late 2025 amid record global price momentum.
- Rising bullion prices pushed gold beyond major milestones during heavy institutional demand.
- Stablecoin reserves showed growing use of gold alongside US treasuries for backing.
Tether added about 27 metric tonnes of gold to its fund exposure in the fourth quarter of 2025, matching heavy buying seen earlier in the year. The company confirmed the move on Monday. The purchases came as gold prices surged to new highs during the same period. According to Reuters, gold has risen 18% year to date after gaining 64% through 2025. Prices crossed $3,000 per ounce in March. They later broke $4,000 in October. On Monday, gold touched $5,000 amid strong demand and global tensions.
During this rally, Tether emerged as a notable buyer. Its reserve updates showed rapid gold accumulation tied to backing both its USDT stablecoin and the gold-backed Tether XAUT token.
Stablecoin Reserves Expand Beyond Treasuries
Tether issues USDT, a digital dollar with $187 billion in circulation. Each token represents one U.S. dollar held in reserve. Those reserves include cash equivalents and U.S. Treasury bills, which allow redemptions at par.
Reuters reported that as spot gold prices climbed, Tether reported growing exposure to bullion. The company also issues XAUT, a stablecoin fully backed by physical gold. XAUT carried a market value of about $2.7 billion by late December.
Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s chief executive, addressed the scale of holdings. “We are operating at a scale that now places the Tether Gold Investment Fund alongside sovereign gold holders,” he said in a company statement.
Gold Holdings Compared With Central Banks
Poland’s central bank ranked as the most active official buyer during the quarter. It increased reserves by 35 tonnes to reach 550 tonnes total. Tether did not disclose its combined gold stored in Switzerland for USDT and XAUT.
For XAUT alone, Tether held 16.2 tonnes of gold by the end of December. That amount represented about 60% of the global gold-backed stablecoin supply, according to company data. Tether’s third-quarter reserve report for USDT showed $12.9 billion in gold as of late September. At prevailing prices, that equalled roughly 104 tonnes. Gold made up about 7% of USDT reserves, while Treasuries dominated.
Regulation and Scrutiny Around Reserve Composition
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said stablecoin demand for Treasuries could lower government borrowing costs. Tether’s disclosures showed issuers also favour alternative assets such as gold. In September, Tether announced plans for USAT, a U.S.-regulated stablecoin aligned with the GENIUS Act.
The law requires backing with cash and U.S. Treasuries and entered into force this summer. Attestations for Tether come from BDO Italia, not full audits. Critics have raised concerns for years. In July, Ardoino said Tether plans a full audit in the future.
Related: Tether and Bitqik Launch Nationwide Crypto Education Program
Market Expectations and Compliance Questions
As of Sept. 30, BDO Italia reported $12.9 billion in precious metals backing $181 billion in fiat-denominated Tether tokens. Analysts at JPMorgan earlier suggested Tether might need to sell gold to meet future compliance needs. At that time, gold traded near $2,950.
Meanwhile, traders continued to watch bullion closely. Users on Myriad, operated by Decrypt’s parent company, Dastan, leaned bullish. They assigned a 57% chance to gold reaching $5,400 rather than falling to $4,700.
