PANews reported on January 28th that, according to Bloomberg, stablecoin issuer Tether Holdings SA has become one of the largest players in the global gold market, holding approximately 140 tons of gold, worth about $23 billion. It is believed to be the largest known holder of physical gold outside of banks and nations. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino revealed that the company is continuously purchasing gold at a rate of 1 to 2 tons per week, aiming to establish a long-term, stable physical gold reserve in a former Swiss nuclear bunker. He emphasized that this move is akin to acting as "one of the world's largest gold central banks," and predicted that geopolitical rivals will launch gold-pegged alternative currencies to the US dollar, for which Tether has already prepared its gold token, XAUT.

By 2025, Tether had purchased over 70 tons of gold, exceeding the holdings of almost all single central banks except for the Polish central bank, and surpassing many large gold ETFs. In addition to direct holdings, Tether has hired a former senior gold trader from HSBC and plans to establish a gold trading platform to compete with banks such as JPMorgan Chase. The company is also acquiring stakes in several mid-sized Canadian gold mining concessionaires.

According to previous reports, Tether increased its gold reserves by approximately 27 tons in the fourth quarter of 2025 .