According to the latest report from Wall Street investment bank Jefferies, Tether has been in a “crazy buying spree” over the past few months, with its gold reserves surpassing $23 billion, officially ranking among the “Top 30 Gold Holders Worldwide,” leaving many sovereign nations behind.
Jefferies analysts pointed out that as of January 31, Tether’s gold reserves are estimated to have reached 148 tons, worth approximately $23 billion. Among these, the company purchased about 26 tons of gold in Q4 2025 in one go, and added another 6 tons in January this year, causing its gold holdings to rise rapidly.
The report further noted that, in terms of quarterly purchase volume, Tether’s gold acquisitions have exceeded most countries’ central banks, ranking only behind Poland and Brazil in the same period.
Analysts stated that, based on current levels, Tether’s gold holdings have surpassed countries like Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, South Korea, and Greece. Not only has it become one of the top 30 gold holders globally, but it also stands among the few “non-sovereign” gold buyers capable of rivaling sovereign nations.
This 148 tons of gold mainly serves as reserve assets for Tether’s two major products, including the dollar-pegged stablecoin USDT and the gold-backed token Tether Gold (XAUT). However, analysts also warned that Tether’s actual gold holdings might be higher than publicly disclosed figures.
Since Tether is a privately held company, its financial transparency is not as comprehensive as that of publicly listed companies. The figures on its books only reflect a “minimum estimate,” and there may be undisclosed gold holdings on Tether’s balance sheet.
According to the USDT reserve attestation report for Q4 last year, by the end of the year, about $17 billion of Tether’s reserves were allocated to gold, which, based on gold prices at the time, equates to approximately 126 tons; by the end of January, the supply of XAUT increased to 712,000 tokens, valued at $3.2 billion, corresponding to an additional 6 tons of gold backing the tokens.
The timing of Tether’s massive gold purchases coincided with a historic rally in gold prices. Last month, gold prices briefly surged past $5,000 per ounce, nearly a 50% increase since September of last year. Strong demand from global central banks, rising long-term government bond yields, and investors rushing to seek “de-dollarization” safe havens have all fueled this “golden bull market.”
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