Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, bought another 8,889 BTC. The latest purchase is valued at around $627 million, bringing its Bitcoin holdings to 75.354K BTC.
Overall, the company now has $5.26 billion worth of Bitcoin reserves, according to the data compiled by Arkham Intelligence.
Tether first bought Bitcoin in September 2022. Later on, in May 2023, reaffirmed its intentions to accumulate the cryptocurrency, citing its potential as an investment asset and also to reduce reliance on cash and assets similar to cash like USA Treasury bonds.
During the same time, the Switzerland-based company revealed its plan to allocate up to 15% of corporate profits from surplus Tether stablecoin reserves into Bitcoin. Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether had then stated,
“Its limited supply, decentralized nature, and widespread adoption have positioned Bitcoin as a favored choice among institutional and retail investors alike. Our investment in Bitcoin is not only a way to enhance the performance of our portfolio, but it is also a method of aligning ourselves with a transformative technology that has the potential to reshape the way we conduct business and live our lives.”
Since then, Tether has substantially increased its Bitcoin holdings, a strategy that has reaped rewards thanks to the price appreciation.
Tether witnessed a “record-breaking” net profit surge, as it clocked at $2.85 billion in Q4 2023. Nearly $1 billion of this profit originated from net operating gains, primarily from interests in the US Treasury. The rest came from the surge of gold and Bitcoin reserves.
In terms of Bitcoin holdings, the company behind USDT now ranks as the sixth-largest holder among various entities such as ETFs, miners, and publicly listed companies.
According to Apollo Sats, Tether trails closely behind Fidelity’s spot Bitcoin ETF (FBTC), which ranks fifth and holds 145k BTC; MicroStrategy, with 214k BTC, ranks fourth; BlackRock’s IBIT, with 252k BTC, ranks third, and Grayscale’s GBTC, with 334k BTC, ranks second.
On the other hand, the nine new spot ETFs collectively captured the first position with a whopping 501k BTC.