Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, has significantly increased its Bitcoin reserves over the past 12 months, acquiring more than 27,700 BTC. In this regard, the company has outpaced most leading spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs), trailing only a few key market players.
This is reported by Business • Media
Record Purchases and New Market Positions
As of September 2025, Tether holds 100,521 BTC on its balance sheet, equivalent to approximately $11.32 billion. This achievement has allowed the company to rank third among the largest corporate holders of Bitcoin in the world, surpassed only by Strategy and Block.one.
According to the company’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino, about 7,900 BTC of the Bitcoin purchased over the year has been directly allocated to reserves backing the USDT stablecoin. An additional 19,800 BTC has been transferred to the digital asset fund Twenty One Capital (XXI), in which the company is a co-investor. Through these actions, Tether has outperformed ETFs such as VanEck HODL, Bitwise BITB, Ark 21Shares ARKB, and WisdomTree BTCW in terms of purchase volumes.
“We combine the reserve backing of the stablecoin with an investment approach that includes Bitcoin, gold, and real estate. This allows Tether to remain resilient even in a volatile market.”
Company Strategy and Future Plans
Major players in the Bitcoin ETF segment remain ahead of Tether in terms of purchase volumes over the year. For instance, BlackRock IBIT has increased its reserves by 394,600 BTC, Grayscale mini Bitcoin Trust by 44,200 BTC, and Fidelity FBTC by 27,900 BTC.
Tether began systematic Bitcoin purchases in May 2023, announcing its intention to allocate 15% of its quarterly profits to acquire this cryptocurrency. This strategy has secured the company’s status as one of the few large corporate players openly recording a portion of profits in BTC.
According to Bitcoin Treasuries, Tether is currently the third-largest corporate holder of Bitcoin in the world. Additionally, in June 2025, Paolo Ardoino announced plans to make Tether a leading company in the Bitcoin mining market by the end of the current year.