{"id":33471,"date":"2026-11-03T18:37:38","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T18:37:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/investx.fr\/en\/2026\/11\/03\/tether-150000-bitcoin-paolo-ardoino-gap-official-reports\/"},"modified":"2026-11-03T18:37:43","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T18:37:43","slug":"tether-150000-bitcoin-paolo-ardoino-gap-official-reports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/investx.fr\/en\/crypto-news\/tether-150000-bitcoin-paolo-ardoino-gap-official-reports\/","title":{"rendered":"Tether Holds 150,000 Bitcoin According to Its CEO \u2014 50,000 More Than Official Reports Reveal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Paolo Ardoino<\/strong> announced it live from Lugano: Tether reportedly holds around 150,000 Bitcoin<\/strong>, equivalent to $11.5 billion<\/strong> at current prices. That figure exceeds by 50,000 BTC<\/strong> what the company’s latest official reserve report discloses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gap is far from trivial. It raises legitimate questions about Tether’s accounting structure<\/strong>, the separation between its USDT<\/strong> reserves and its proprietary investments \u2014 and about the real transparency of an entity that now carries more than $183 billion in liabilities<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Behind the CEO’s casual keynote declaration lies a far more complex financial architecture<\/strong>, one in which Bitcoin<\/strong> and gold<\/strong> are playing an increasingly significant role in the strength of the balance sheet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

150,000 BTC: A Statement That Doesn’t Add Up With Official Figures<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At the Plan \u20bf Forum in Lugano<\/strong>, Paolo Ardoino<\/strong> stated: “We have, roughly, 150,000 Bitcoin. It’s not much, but it’s honest work.”<\/em> The tone was casual, but the number carries serious weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Q3 2024 reserve attestation<\/strong>, published on October 30 and verified by auditing firm BDO<\/strong>, values the Bitcoin<\/a> line at $8.37 billion<\/strong> at a price of $83,621.23 per BTC<\/strong> as of September 30. That implies approximately 100,060 BTC<\/strong> \u2014 up 1,130 units from the 98,930 BTC<\/strong> reported the previous quarter. The bulk of the quarterly increase (+$2.57B) came from price appreciation rather than net purchases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 50,000 BTC discrepancy<\/strong> between Ardoino’s statement and the official attestation has a structural explanation: Tether Investments<\/strong>, the group’s investment arm that deploys the company’s profits, operates separately from the reserves backing USDT<\/strong>. Assets held within that entity therefore do not appear in reserve attestations. Ardoino did not specify where these additional coins are held, nor when they were acquired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Tether<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A Balance Sheet Increasingly Dependent on Bitcoin and Gold<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the statement itself, the Q3 figures<\/strong> paint a picture of a balance sheet in transition. Tether reports $191.45 billion in reserve assets<\/strong> against $183.50 billion in liabilities<\/strong>, leaving a surplus of $7.95 billion<\/strong> \u2014 up from just $4.11 billion<\/strong> in June. A notable improvement, though one that partly rests on volatile assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bitcoin<\/a><\/strong> ($8.37B<\/strong>) and gold<\/strong> (~$19.1B<\/strong>) together account for nearly $27.5 billion<\/strong>, more than three times the size of the safety buffer. A sharp correction in either asset would directly erode that cushion. US Treasury bills<\/strong> remain the backbone of the reserves at approximately $132.4 billion<\/strong>, but the share of risk assets within the safety margin is something worth watching closely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tether generated $1.5 billion in profit in Q3<\/strong> and $4.5 billion<\/strong> over the first nine months of the year. In August, the company completed its first full independent audit<\/strong> with KPMG<\/strong>, ending years of relying solely on attestations. USDT<\/strong> now counts more than 730 million users<\/strong>, with approximately 30 million new wallets<\/strong> created every quarter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tether: The Second-Largest Corporate Bitcoin Holder?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If the 150,000 BTC<\/strong> figure holds, Tether ranks as the second-largest corporate Bitcoin holder<\/a><\/strong> in the world \u2014 well behind MicroStrategy<\/strong> and its 848,517 BTC<\/strong> (as of Q3), but ahead of virtually all publicly listed miners and crypto treasury companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tether’s Bitcoin exposure<\/a> extends well beyond its own wallets. The company took full control of Twenty One Capital<\/strong> in May following the buyout of SoftBank<\/strong>‘s stake, backs Adecoagro<\/strong>‘s mining operations in Brazil, and runs mining and energy projects across Latin America. It remains unclear whether these positions are included in the 150,000 BTC<\/strong> figure cited by Ardoino.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The statement does not signal a fresh purchase of 50,000 BTC<\/strong>. What it reveals above all is a structural opacity<\/strong> between the various entities within the Tether<\/strong> group \u2014 a nuance that analysts and regulators would do well to keep in mind as the world’s leading stablecoin<\/strong> deepens its integration into the Bitcoin economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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