The Chief Executive Officer of Tether, Paolo Ardoino, recently gave the audience at the Plan ₿ Forum in Lugano, Switzerland a detailed look into Tether’s financial reserves, revealing an impressive stash of 82,454 Bitcoin (BTC) and 48.3 tons of gold. The event, which also featured the unveiling of a statue of Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, comes at a time when Tether’s market cap has catapulted past the $120 billion mark, positioning it as 3.47 times larger than its nearest competitor, USDC, currently valued at $34.65 billion.
The data about Tether’s financial reserves was shared via a slide presentation, captured and shared by the CEO of Uquid, Tran Hung. The slide indicated that Tether’s reserves included $5.58 billion in BTC and $3.87 billion in gold, calculated using the exchange rates from October 27. However, this revelation raised eyebrows as the total of $9.45 billion didn’t seem to fully align with the backing of the stablecoin’s market.
In response to the ensuing confusion, Ardoino took to his social media platform to bring clarity to the situation. He revealed that apart from the BTC and gold holdings, Tether also has about $100 billion in U.S. government bonds. “Since I see a lot of confusion in this thread, let me clarify that: – Tether has ~100B in US treasuries. – Plus it has 82k+ BTC and 48T+ of gold,” Ardoino clarified.
Tether has been under the limelight recently following a report published by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). Relying on anonymous sources, the WSJ claimed that there was an ongoing investigation by the U.S. government into the activities of the stablecoin issuer. Both Tether and Ardoino swiftly countered these claims, with Ardoino stating that the “WSJ is regurgitating old noise.” Tether released a statement calling the WSJ’s report “wildly irresponsible” and filled with “reckless allegations.”
This latest disclosure of Tether’s financial reserves is likely to heighten the interest and scrutiny of regulators and the broader cryptocurrency community. As the largest stablecoin issuer in the world, Tether plays a pivotal role in the digital asset market. Its stability and transparency are crucial to the health and trust of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, and these revelations will undoubtedly contribute to ongoing discussions about the role and regulation of stablecoins.