Tether Holds 150,000 Bitcoin, CEO Says—About 50,000 More Than Its Reserve Report Shows

Paolo Ardoino told the Plan ₿ Forum in Lugano the company owns “give or take 150,000 Bitcoin,” but its Q3 reserve report implies just 100,060.

The top 3

  1. Mechanism of the Reporting Discrepancy: Tether’s reserve reports serve a specific function: documenting assets backing the USDT stablecoin. Consequently, Bitcoin holdings categorized as 'corporate investments' or held by subsidiaries (such as Tether Investments) are excluded from the Q3 attestation, leading to the quantitative gap reported by the CEO.
  2. Contextualizing the Asset Holdings: Tether's Q3 reserve report, verified by BDO, lists $8.37 billion in Bitcoin (approx. 100,060 BTC). While Tether has historically funneled portions of its realized operating profits into Bitcoin, the reported increase in reserve value during Q3 was primarily driven by price appreciation rather than additional purchases, highlighting that corporate treasury strategies operate independently of reserve collateral requirements.

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