Tether is buying about one to two tons of gold each week to boost its reserves and back its gold token, a move described in a recent interview. The purchases feed holdings used to support USDT and the gold-backed token XAUT, the company said.
The firm now holds roughly 140 tons of gold, about $24 billion at current prices. Ed. note: that level ranks it among the world’s largest private gold holders.
Tether moves new bars into a high-security vault located in a former Swiss nuclear bunker. The CEO described the facility as, “It’s a James Bond kind of place.”
Gold recently cleared $5,000 per ounce and traded near $5,320 per ounce, according to price data. The firm said it expects to keep buying at the present pace for at least the next few months.
A September attestation from BDO Italia valued the firm’s precious metal reserves at about $12.9 billion, near seven percent of its stated stablecoin reserves, according to the attestation.
In November, S&P Global downgraded the stability of USDT to “weak,” citing its use of riskier assets in reserves. The company said it will reassess gold demand on a quarterly basis.
Investor interest in the gold token has grown rapidly, pushing XAUT into the top 50 cryptocurrencies by market cap. A community prediction market currently favors further upside in gold prices.
