Tether, the largest stablecoin issuer, has shut down rumors that it has been quietly selling off its bitcoin for gold.
The speculation, which spread across Bitcoin circles in the last few weeks, claimed that the company had reduced its bitcoin stash to build up gold reserves.
But Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has denied the claims, calling them false and reaffirming the company’s strategy of investing profits into “Bitcoin, gold and land”.
The controversy began when independent analyst and YouTuber Clive Thompson looked at Tether’s quarterly reports from accounting firm BDO. The video is now unavailable.
According to Thompson, the company’s bitcoin holdings went from 92,650 BTC in Q1 2025 to 83,274 BTC in Q2. To some, that looked like a massive sell-off. Thompson argued the decrease meant the stablecoin issuer had liquidated part of its position to buy gold.
This set off a wave of speculation online. Bitcoin Twitter, always skeptical of Tether, was quick to assume the worst. But other industry figures quickly jumped in to clarify the numbers.
Samson Mow, CEO of Bitcoin-focused company JAN3, explained that the company didn’t sell its bitcoin but transferred 19,800 BTC to a new investment vehicle called Twenty One Capital (XXI).
Related: Twenty One Capital Receives 37,000 BTC From Investing Partners
“June 2, 2025, 14,000 BTC was transferred to XXI. In July 2025, an additional 5,800 BTC was transferred to XXI”, Mow wrote on X.
“That means that at the end of Q2 2025, Tether would have had 4,624 BTC more than at the end of Q1 2025. If you combined it with the July transfer, then Tether has (at least) a net increase in Bitcoin holdings of 10,424 BTC”.
Mow added bluntly: “Tether is mega bullish on Bitcoin on all metrics”.
Ardoino backed up the explanation, saying the company “didn’t sell any Bitcoin,” and just allocated part of its holdings into XXI.
Ardoino said the company is not abandoning Bitcoin, but strengthening its BTC position. As of the latest data, Tether holds over 100,521 BTC, worth around $11.17 billion, making it one of the largest institutional bitcoin holders in the world.
At the same time, the company is gradually expanding into gold as part of what Ardoino calls a hybrid reserve model.
Reports say Tether holds around $8.7 billion worth of gold, nearly 80 tons, in secure vaults in Zurich.
The company has also launched a gold-backed token called XAUT which recently surpassed $1.3 billion market cap and entered the top 100 digital assets.
“While the world continues to get darker, Tether will continue to invest part of its profits into safe assets like Bitcoin, gold, and land,” Ardoino said.
This is not about replacing Bitcoin, but about being resilient in uncertain times. Ardoino says while Bitcoin is at the core of his company’s reserve strategy, gold and land provide diversification.
