Report: Tether is expected to hold at least 148 tons of physical gold, ranking among the top 30 gold holders in the world

According to CoinDesk, investment bank Jefferies has released a report stating that the physical gold reserves of stablecoin issuer Tether had increased to approximately 148 tons by the end of January, valued at about $23 billion, placing it among the top 30 gold holders globally.

The report noted that Tether purchased about 26 tons of gold in the fourth quarter of 2025 and an additional 6 tons in January 2026. Its quarterly purchase volume exceeds that of most individual central banks, second only to Poland and Brazil. Currently, Tether's gold holdings surpass those of countries like Australia, the UAE, and Qatar. This gold primarily serves as reserve assets for its US dollar stablecoin USDT and gold token XAUT.

Jefferies' analysis states that since Tether is a private company, this data is only a conservative estimate, and its actual gold holdings may be higher. According to its fourth-quarter verification report, by the end of 2025, there is approximately $17 billion worth of gold in the USDT reserves.