Tether, the company behind the world’s largest stablecoin, is steadily increasing its physical gold holdings, acquiring up to two tons of gold per week. This strategy has made Tether one of the largest private gold holders globally.

CEO Paolo Ardoino told Bloomberg that the company plans to maintain this pace of purchases for at least the next few months. At current gold prices, this translates into more than $1 billion in monthly investments. With gold prices up over 90% year-on-year, Tether’s acquisitions may influence the market alongside central bank purchases.

The gold is stored in a highly secure Swiss facility, previously a nuclear bunker, which Ardoino described as a “James Bond-style location.”

Tether’s total gold reserves now stand at approximately 140 tons, valued at roughly $24 billion, making it one of the largest known non-governmental gold holders outside central banks and major ETFs. Most of this gold forms the company’s own reserves, while a portion backs the gold-backed stablecoin XAU₮, which currently has a market capitalization of about $2.7 billion.

According to the company, Tether’s gold buying pace exceeds that of countries such as Greece, Qatar, and Australia. In the last quarter of 2025, the firm added 27 metric tons to its gold holdings.

Ardoino emphasized that the scale of Tether Gold operations places the company alongside government gold holders and entails significant responsibility. XAU₮ exists to provide a hedge during periods of monetary uncertainty.

Björn Schmidtke, CEO of Aurelion (Tether’s gold reserve management company), noted that most global gold investments are through ETFs or securities that don’t guarantee ownership of specific bars. He called these instruments “paper gold,” highlighting the risk of supply stress if large-scale redemptions occur. Approximately 98% of gold investments operate this way, according to Schmidtke.

Tokenized gold, however, provides verified ownership and helps avoid bottlenecks in physical gold delivery.

Tether’s gold acquisitions, along with central bank purchases from countries such as Poland, Kazakhstan, Brazil, and Azerbaijan, have coincided with a 90% increase in gold prices over the past year, pushing the price above $5,200 per ounce.

Ardoino also suggested that part of the demand could be related to countries preparing tokenized gold instruments as an alternative to the US dollar in global transactions. BRICS members have been among the leading net gold buyers, with the notable exception of Russia, which has been a net seller due to ongoing geopolitical pressures.