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Tether Holds 150,000 Bitcoin, CEO Says—About 50,000 More Than Its Reserve Report Shows
Developed over time first seen 5 hours ago
Tether chief executive Paolo Ardoino said at the Plan ₿ Forum in Lugano that the company holds “give or take” 150,000 bitcoin. That is roughly 50,000 more than the holdings implied by Tether’s latest report on the assets backing its USDT stablecoin. The report, covering 30 September 2026 and accompanied by an attestation from BDO, valued bitcoin in those reserves at $8.37 billion, equivalent to about 100,060 coins at its stated valuation. Ardoino’s figure describes a larger company holding; it does not establish that Tether recently bought another 50,000 bitcoin.
The difference remains unexplained. Tether says its proprietary investments are funded from profits and excess capital and kept separate from the reserves backing USDT, so bitcoin held in that portfolio could account for some or all of the gap. Ardoino did not say where the additional coins are held or when they were acquired. Tether reported $191.45 billion in reserve assets and $183.50 billion in liabilities at the end of September, leaving $7.95 billion in excess reserves. A breakdown of the wider bitcoin holding would clarify how much sits inside the stablecoin reserves and how much sits elsewhere in the company.
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In short
- Ardoino says Tether holds about 150,000 bitcoin.
- Its September USDT reserve report implies about 100,060 bitcoin.
- Tether has not explained where or when the additional coins were held or acquired.
How this story developed
- 4 hours ago Tether chief executive Paolo Ardoino said at the Plan ₿ Forum in Lugano that the company holds “give or take” 150,000 bitcoin. That is roughly 50,000 more than the holdings implied by Tether’s latest report on the assets backing its USDT stablecoin.
Full account
Tether chief executive Paolo Ardoino has said the company holds about 150,000 bitcoin, roughly 50,000 more than the amount implied by its latest report on assets backing the USDT stablecoin. Ardoino gave the estimate during a presentation at the Plan ₿ Forum in Lugano, according to CoinDesk. His figure describes Tether’s holdings in broad terms; the reserve report covers a named issuing company at a specific date.
Tether International’s report for 30 September 2026 lists $8.37 billion in bitcoin reserves, valued at $83,621.23 per coin. That works out at approximately 100,060 bitcoin. The comparison leaves a gap of about 50,000 coins, but it does not establish that Tether bought that amount after September. Ardoino did not say where the additional coins are held or when they were acquired.
One possible explanation is the scope of the disclosure. Tether said in its first-quarter report that proprietary investments held through Tether Investments are funded from excess capital and profits and are separate from the reserves backing USDT. Bitcoin held in that part of the business would therefore fall outside the reserve figures. Tether has not, however, identified those investments as the source of the difference between Ardoino’s estimate and the September report.
The third-quarter report, published on 30 October with an attestation prepared by BDO, put reserve assets at $191.45 billion and liabilities at $183.50 billion. The resulting $7.95 billion surplus was nearly double the $4.1 billion reported at the end of June. Tether said it earned $1.5 billion in net operating profit during the quarter and $4.5 billion over the first nine months of 2026, with US Treasury bills and reverse repurchase agreements providing most of that income. Direct and indirect Treasury bill holdings totalled $132.4 billion at September’s end.
The earlier first-quarter report gives a longer view of Tether’s reserves. At 31 March, it put bitcoin holdings at about $7 billion, physical gold at about $20 billion and direct and indirect US Treasury bill exposure at about $141 billion. Its $8.23 billion reserve surplus was higher than the September figure, despite the sharp recovery from June to September. Those quarterly disclosures describe assets backing issued tokens; they do not provide a complete account of bitcoin held elsewhere in the Tether business. The location of the coins included in Ardoino’s wider estimate remains unconfirmed.
Where outlets differ
From the full account, which is AI-written from the sources:
CoinDesk focuses on Ardoino’s 150,000-bitcoin estimate and the approximately 50,000-coin gap with the reserve report. Tether’s third-quarter announcement focuses on profit, Treasury holdings and the rise in excess reserves; it does not reconcile the bitcoin figures.
Tether’s first-quarter announcement describes a separate pool of proprietary investments, which offers a possible explanation for why a company-wide holding could exceed the reserve figure. It does not say that those investments account for this particular gap.
The quarterly comparisons have different starting points: Tether highlights the near doubling of excess reserves from June to September, while its March report shows a higher $8.23 billion surplus at the start of that period.