The driving force behind gold's surge? Tether stockpiles 1 ton in a week, reserves surpass those of many central banks

The world’s largest stablecoin issuer, Tether, has recently accelerated its gold purchases, drawing significant market attention. The latest data shows that as of September 2025, Tether holds 116 tons of gold, valued at approximately $12.9 billion, surpassing the reserves of central banks in Australia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, and others, making it one of the world’s top 30 gold holders.

What’s even more noteworthy is the speed of its gold acquisitions. Over the past year, Tether has increased its holdings by more than 1 ton per week on average, ranking third among global central banks in terms of gold buying speed, trailing only Kazakhstan and Brazil, and even outpacing China and Turkey. Jefferies notes that about 12 tons are used to back XAUt, with another 104 tons included in USDT reserves, making Tether the world’s largest non-sovereign gold holder.

Gold Prices Hit Record Highs, Tether’s Strategic Accumulation Spurs Market Discussion

(Source: Bloomberg)

Gold entered a new bull market cycle after 2022, surging from $1,680 to a historic high of $3,700. Tether’s large-scale accumulation occurred when gold prices were still in the $1,800–$2,000 range, seen by the market as “timing the start of the bull run.”

In Q3 2025, Tether increased its holdings by about 26 tons in a single quarter, accounting for 2% of global gold demand. While the proportion isn’t high, its buying comes entirely from the spot market, making its impact on prices more direct.

Building Vaults, Acquiring Mining Rights, Poaching Bank Traders: Tether Creates a Full-Chain Gold Ecosystem

Tether isn’t just buying gold—it’s building its own gold infrastructure. The company has completed “one of the world’s safest vaults” in Switzerland, and is constructing a second vault in Singapore to reduce geopolitical risks and maintain custody control.

Additionally, in 2025 Tether invested in Canadian-listed Elemental Altus Royalties, acquiring over one-third of its shares to further expand upstream into gold mining. Tether also hired the global head of precious metals trading and the head of financing from HSBC, signaling its ambition to deeply participate in gold trading and price setting.

XAUt Gains Popularity: Physical Gold On-Chain, Becomes New DeFi Collateral

(Source: Bloomberg)

Tether’s Gold Reserves Back Two Types of Products

USDT Underlying Reserves: 104 tons to strengthen its risk resistance

XAUt Token: Each token represents 1 ounce of physical gold in the vault, tradable instantly on-chain, usable as lending collateral or DEX liquidity positions

The expansion of XAUt has enabled gold to possess “crypto-native liquidity” for the first time, making it one of the fastest-growing real-world asset tokens in the DeFi market in 2025.

US Regulation Rolls Out, Tether Adopts Dual-Track Strategy

The US “GENIUS Act” has explicitly banned compliant stablecoins from using gold as reserves. Tether has announced it will launch a compliant token, USAT, for the US market, while retaining USDT as an offshore product.

Analysts point out that Tether’s gold investments may serve as the “ultimate firewall” against regulatory uncertainty, allowing USDT to maintain its non-sovereign, censorship-resistant value source in global markets.