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Tether has quietly managed to surpass all central banks to become one of the most aggressive buyers of gold in recent months.
Given Tether’s vocal commitment to the long-term future of cryptocurrencies, its aggressive shift toward gold has raised questions about what prompted the shift.
Main points of the article
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Gold’s record 56% rise in 2025 is generally attributed to concerns over fiscal dominance, rising public debt, loose monetary policy, and declining confidence in major currencies.
These concerns have prompted central banks in countries such as Kazakhstan, Brazil and Turkey to… Increase your gold purchaseswhich reinforces the metal’s position as the most reliable safe asset in the world.
A recent analysis by Jefferies revealed a surprising development. Tether bought 26 tons of gold in the third quarter – More than any central bank. At the end of September, their total potential amounted to about 104 tons, for a value of about $14 billion.
Tether’s presence goes beyond the gold market Its tokenized product, XAUtwhich holds less than 12 tons despite establishing a market capitalization of $1.6 billion. Jefferies said the company has expanded its bullion reserves to support the USDT and XAUt.
bill of the USDT It rose from $174 billion in the third quarter to $184 billion in mid-November, according to Reuters. Gold became a bigger part of its support as the supply increased. Precious metals now account for about 7% of Tether’s reserves, worth about $13 billion.
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In general, Tether It holds about 104 tons of gold in USDT and 12 tons in XAUt. The volume and regularity of these purchases highlight their growing influence in the bullion market.
However, the timing of this rapid build-up has raised a new layer of controversy.
A move that contradicts the law of genius
The rise in Tether’s growth is close to… The new American GENIUS law In a strange way. The law prohibits any issuer from holding gold as part of its reserves. It forces companies seeking approval to rely on cash, Treasury bills, or other liquid and transparent assets.
Tether has already announced A GENIUS compatible token is called USATwhich will avoid gold completely. However, the company continued to add gold to back USDT even after the law passed.
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Why Tether doubled its use of gold during this transition is unclear. Gold prices have also cooled since hitting $4,379 in mid-October. The metal is now trading more than 6% below that peak.
However, Tether’s commitment to physical gold highlights a deeper affinity between cryptocurrencies and traditional security assets.
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Different havens, different risks
The convergence of gold and Bitcoin, often referred to as “digital gold”, is not surprising. Both attract buyers who fear weakness in major currencies. Many see assets with limited supply as protection against long-term decline.
However, in reality, the two markets behave very differently.
Bitcoin has grown rapidly over the past decade, but is still very volatile. Recent price fluctuations have made this clear. The coin has fallen sharply in the last two months, behaving more like a high-beta technical asset rather than a monetary hedge.
It works Stablecoins In a different promise.
Offers instant redemption at face value It is based on reserves that must be stable. However, the cryptocurrency sector still shows vulnerability to sudden jitters. A rapid change in sentiment can occur at any moment.
If the demand for stablecoins collapses, the pressure will fall directly on the assets that support them, including Tether’s growing gold pile. A sharp market reversal could trigger a selloff in gold, dragging a traditional hard asset into the turmoil of crypto-led markets.
