🧐 The surge in gold prices has made one company a huge winner｜Why does Tether hold the world's largest physical gold reserves?

If you hold USDT, you must read this article!

With the best gold surge, Tether can be said to have won big!

Currently, globally speaking, excluding ETFs/trusts, and only considering the physical gold held by operational companies for reserves/stablecoin backing,

the company verified to hold the "largest amount of gold in the world" is Tether.

Stablecoins leverage the largest profits and the biggest leverage, and this snowball keeps getting bigger—

because they are engaged in a super simple yet massively scaled financial business:

1️⃣ Core: Capture the "global demand for US dollars" and earn interest spreads

The commercial essence of USDT is:

You give Tether 1 dollar (or equivalent asset) → They give you 1 USDT.

This money will be allocated by Tether primarily into reserves consisting of U.S. Treasury bonds/cash equivalents, and the interest income almost entirely belongs to the company.

When the circulation scale of USDT reaches approximately $174 billion (as of September 30, 2025), even conservatively assuming a 4% annual return, it becomes a "money printing machine" level interest pool.

This is why stablecoin issuers become extremely profitable during high-interest rate periods.

2️⃣ Scale effect: Low costs, but huge balances

Tether's operational costs (team, compliance, channels) are relatively light compared to the asset scale they manage.

Low costs + massive investable assets = astonishing profit margins (this is also why outsiders often say it is "one of the most profitable fintech companies").

They disclosed that: in 2024, the group's net profit exceeded $13 billion.

They also disclosed that: in the first three quarters of 2025, profits exceeded $10 billion, with several billion dollars in "excess reserves/buffers."

3️⃣ Not just Treasury bonds: Tether also allocates a portion to more "profitable" (and more controversial) investments

According to public information, Tether's reserves include not only U.S. Treasury bonds but also gold, Bitcoin, secured loans, etc. This can bring additional income/appreciation but also introduces risks and doubts (transparency, volatility, asset isolation, etc.).

Regarding the gold you asked about earlier: Reuters recently reported that it bought about 27 tons of gold in Q4 2025 and mentioned the tonnage/proportion of gold in its reserves.

4️⃣ Demand side: USDT is a "more useful dollar" in many countries/scenarios

In some countries (foreign exchange controls, weak banking systems, inconvenient cross-border settlements, high gray demand), USDT is the fastest, cheapest, and most universal "dollar substitute."

Thus, it has access to a global "dollar liquidity entry," and the scale naturally keeps growing.

In summary: The reason Tether is "so wealthy" is that it has captured a large chunk of global dollar demand as "deposits," and then turned that money into huge profits through U.S. Treasury bond interest.

5️⃣ Where are Tether's risks?

A triple game of confidence + liquidity + regulation.

Tether's core risk is certainly not what many people think—that its assets are insufficient. Tether is a massive snowball; its assets will only keep growing, and there is only one risk:

When "everyone assumes it is safe" → "starts to scrutinize it seriously" → "some aspect is magnified and questioned," liquidity confidence may instantly reverse.

The truly dangerous moments will only arise in three scenarios:

1) The asset structure becomes complex (the proportion of non-Treasury bonds increases);

2) Regulation/judicial suddenly names it;

3) Market confidence shifts from "assumed safe" to "starting to question."

If any two of these three scenarios occur simultaneously, I believe it becomes very dangerous; if all three occur, we may need to be vigilant about fund safety, making stress testing during such times very important. Currently, Tether has not experienced all three events simultaneously, so the outcome is unknown, which is precisely the biggest risk point.

For us, I believe the best risk prevention is to prepare in advance, not to worry unnecessarily, but to be ready, to make allocations, and to ensure cash flow, mainstream coins, and stablecoin allocations are all in place, so that no stablecoin becomes your Achilles' heel.

Finally, I want to say: I believe USDT is very safe, even safer than most traditional financial products, but it is merely an efficiency tool, not an asset anchor.

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