Tether's Ardoino says the company holds about 150,000 bitcoin, roughly 50,000 more than its reserve report shows

Summary

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the stablecoin issuer holds "give or take 150,000 bitcoin," worth about $11.5 billion at current prices, during his keynote at the Plan ₿ Forum in Lugano, Switzerland, CoinDesk and Bitcoin Magazine reported.

That is roughly 50,000 BTC more than implied by Tether International's third-quarter reserve report, which lists $8.37 billion of bitcoin valued at $83,621.23 per coin, or about 100,060 BTC, up about 1,130 from the end of June, according to both outlets.

Ardoino did not say where the additional coins are held or when they were acquired, so the figure does not indicate a new 50,000 BTC purchase, both outlets noted.

Tether has said investments made from its profits through Tether Investments are kept separate from the reserves backing USDT and would not appear in the attestation, though Ardoino did not say whether that explains the gap, CoinDesk and Bitcoin Magazine reported.

Key facts

• "We have give or take 150,000 bitcoin ourselves. It's not much, but it's honest work," Ardoino said in Lugano. (CoinDesk)
• The Q3 report, attested by BDO, shows $191.45 billion in reserve assets against $183.50 billion in liabilities, with excess reserves of $7.95 billion, up from $4.11 billion in June. (CoinDesk)
• Most of the $2.57 billion rise in the reserve portfolio's bitcoin value during Q3 came from higher prices rather than purchases, according to CoinDesk's calculations. (CoinDesk)
• Ardoino said Tether has more than 730 million users and is adding about 30 million wallets a quarter. (CoinDesk)
• At about 150,000 BTC, Tether would rank among the largest corporate bitcoin holders, behind Strategy's 848,517 BTC as of Q3, Bitcoin Magazine said. (Bitcoin Magazine)
• Bitcoin Magazine said it is unclear whether Tether's other bitcoin-linked positions, such as Twenty One Capital and mining ventures in Latin America, are inside the 150,000 figure. (Bitcoin Magazine)
• Tether said in May 2023 it would regularly allocate up to 15% of its net realized operating profits to bitcoin purchases and hold the coins itself. (CoinDesk)

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