Key Insights:
- Tether added to its Bitcoin holdings by purchasing 8,888 BTC at the end of 2025.
- The profit distributions in quarters were still used to accumulate Bitcoin and gold.
- The use of travel booking websites fueled the offshore expansion of stablecoin payments.
Tether Bitcoin holdings expanded past 96,000 BTC after the New Year’s Eve purchase.
Tether Bitcoin holdings increased sharply at the end of 2025 after the issuer of the USDt stablecoin added 8,888 Bitcoin on New Year’s Eve, pushing its disclosed balance to more than 96,000 BTC.
The purchase was confirmed by Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s chief executive. It marked the latest step in a quarterly accumulation strategy that has steadily expanded the company’s exposure to digital and physical hard assets.
https://twitter.com/paoloardoino/status/2006484145011306766
The acquisition placed Tether among the largest active Bitcoin holders globally. Based on public wallet data, the company’s main Bitcoin address ranked fifth overall, behind exchange-linked holdings associated with Binance, Robinhood, and Bitfinex.
Among privately held corporate treasuries, Tether ranked second, underscoring the scale of its Bitcoin position relative to other non-public firms.
Tether Bitcoin holdings follow a quarterly accumulation model.
Tether Bitcoin holdings have been built through a defined policy under which the company allocates up to 15% of its quarterly profits to Bitcoin purchases. The transaction on New Year’s Eve was estimated at around $780 million at the time of acquisition, which is one of the largest one-time additions under that structure in 2025.
After an initial first-quarter purchase, the company’s holdings exceeded 100,000 BTC before later declining. These changes prompted speculation in market commentary that Tether may have sold portions of its Bitcoin reserves. Ardoino rejected those claims, stating that reductions were tied to internal transfers rather than market sales.
He explained that some Bitcoin was contributed to Twenty One Capital, a firm backed by Tether. As of New Year’s Day, Twenty One Capital held 43,514 BTC, making it the third-largest Bitcoin holder among publicly listed companies, behind Mara Holdings and Strategy.
Gold purchases expand alongside Bitcoin exposure
Adding to the report, Bitcoin is not the only asset class featured in Tether’s reserve strategy. In the third quarter of 2025, the company purchased 26 tons of gold, a quarterly acquisition larger than that reported by any central bank during the same period.
Moreover, the acquisition made Tether one of the top 30 holders of gold in the world with a total of 116 tons of gold.
Rating agencies and market figures doubt the reserve mix
Tether Bitcoin assets and gold exposure have become the focus of recent credit analyst assessments. S&P Global also lowered the rating of USDT to “weak” due to disclosure practices and the concentration of reserves.
The downgrade underscored the challenges that stablecoin issuers are facing as they incorporate additional non-cash-equivalent or volatile assets into their balance sheets.
Further questioning was conducted by industry participants, among them the former BitMEX chief executive, Arthur Hayes, who publicly alerted to the rising proportion of Bitcoin and gold in the reserves of Tether.
These remarks were supplementary to the wider debate on the issue of how the issuers of stablecoins can manage risks without compromising liquidity and redemption power.
Stablecoin usage expands into travel payments.
Developments related to Tether Bitcoin holdings coincided with growing real-world use of stablecoins in payments. In early October, Trip.com began allowing certain overseas users to pay for prepaid hotel and flight bookings using USDT and USDC.
The option appeared on Trip.com’s international platform for users in selected regions, according to a company customer service agent.
The move was first reported by a Chinese blockchain-focused outlet and occurred despite mainland China’s ongoing restrictions on crypto-related activity.
A reporter later confirmed completing hotel and flight bookings using USDT while in Vietnam, noting that the prices were lower than those available on Ctrip, Trip.com’s mainland-facing app.
Offshore stablecoin activity gains momentum
The Trip.com rollout reflected a broader trend among Chinese technology firms testing stablecoin use cases offshore. Stablecoins such as USDT and USDC have increasingly been used for payments and settlements outside mainland China in recent years.
According to an October report from blockchain analytics firm Artemis, more than $10 billion in stablecoins was used for payments in August, compared with $4.3 billion during the same month a year earlier.
Simultaneously, several domestic companies in the mainland, including Ant Group and JD.com, explored stablecoin projects in Hong Kong after the city introduced a licensing framework that permitted issuers. Ant Group is a subsidiary of Alibaba Group Holding that owns the South China Morning Post.
