TL;DR
- Tether accumulated around 140 tons of physical gold, valued at $23 billion, backing its reserves and the issuance of the gold-linked stablecoin XAUT.
- Over the past year, the firm purchased more than 70 tons and maintains a pace of 1 to 2 tons per week.
- XAUT accounts for nearly 60% of the market, with a $2.25 billion market capitalization.
Tether accumulated approximately 140 tons of physical gold, placing it among the largest private holders globally, outside of central banks, ETFs, and commercial banks. At current prices, that volume is valued at roughly $23 billion. Most of the holdings back the company’s corporate reserves and the issuance of its gold-backed stablecoin, XAUT.
Over the past year, Tether purchased more than 70 tons of gold. That volume exceeded the reported acquisitions of nearly all individual central banks and all gold exchange-traded funds, except for the three largest. In 2025, only Poland reported higher purchases. The current accumulation pace remains between 1 and 2 tons per week, as confirmed by CEO Paolo Ardoino. The company reviews its gold demand on a quarterly basis.
Tether Buys Between 1 and 2 Tons Per Week
The physical gold is stored in a high-security vault located in Switzerland, inside a former nuclear facility. The structure features multiple layers of steel doors and protection systems. Tether owns the site and receives bullion shipments on a regular basis, recording inflows almost every week.
XAUT accounts for nearly 60% of the gold-backed stablecoin market. At the end of the fourth quarter, the token’s market capitalization reached $2.25 billion. More than 409,000 tokens were in circulation, with close to 110,000 available for purchase. After the close of that period, Tether Gold Investments added more than 27 metric tons of gold to its reserves.
Competing With Major Banks
XAUT’s growth followed a sharp expansion of the market. During 2025, the combined market capitalization of gold-backed stablecoins rose from roughly $1.3 billion to more than $4 billion. The increase was driven by record gold prices and stronger institutional and onchain demand.
Beyond custody, Tether plans to operate actively in the bullion market. The company aims to conduct gold trading operations, competing directly with international banks such as JPMorgan and HSBC.
Meanwhile, the company continues to rely on USDT as its primary source of revenue. The dollar-pegged stablecoin has a circulating supply of approximately $186 billion. On that basis
