Tether, the crypto company behind the world’s most popular stablecoin continued its gold hoarding over the past month, ranking among the top 30 global owners of the metal and surpassing several sovereign nations, according to a Sunday report from Wall Street investment bank Jefferies.
The stablecoin issuer’s gold reserves rose to an estimated 148 tons as of Jan. 31, worth about $23 billion, after buying about 26 tons in the last quarter of 2025 and adding another 6 tons in January, Jefferies analysts said.
Jefferies estimates show that Tether’s quarterly gold purchases exceeded those of most individual central banks, trailing only Poland and Brazil during that period.
At current levels, Tether’s holdings exceed countries such as Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, South Korea and Greece, placing the crypto firm among the top 30 holders of gold bullion worldwide and one of the largest non-sovereign buyers, the analysts said.
The 148 tons of gold bullion are held as reserves backing both its US dollar-pegged stablecoin USDT and its gold-backed token XAUT. But the company may hold more gold than disclosed, the report added.
Because Tether is privately held, the numbers represent a minimum estimate of its total gold exposure, with undisclosed additional purchases likely made on the company’s balance sheet.
According to the USDT’s fourth quarter attestation, there was about $17 billion of gold in reserves, equivalent to 126 tons at year-end gold prices.
XAUT’s supply grew to 712,000 tokens worth $3.2 billion at the end of January, an increase of 6 tons of gold backing the tokens. CEO Paolo Ardoino told CoinDesk in an interview in October that the bullion was enjoying strong retail demand, mainly from emerging markets.
The accumulation coincided with a record rally in gold, which topped $5,000 an ounce last month and is up nearly 50% since September. The driving forces behind the move are central banks’ demand, rising long-term government bond yields and some investors’ efforts to reduce dependence on the US dollar.
The company’s buying spree may continue, Jefferies noted. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the company plans to allocate 10%-15% of its investment portfolio to physical gold, formalizing a strategy that has already played out over several years.
Tether’s investment portfolio was valued at $20 billion at the end of last year, CoinDesk reported.
Read more: Tether buys up to $1 billion of gold per month and stashes it in a ‘James Bond’ bunker
