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Tether chief executive Paolo Ardoino said the stablecoin issuer owns about 150,000 Bitcoin, a figure well above what the company’s latest USDT reserve report discloses. At the Bitcoin price reported on November 3, 2026, that holding would be worth roughly $11.5 billion, AMBCrypto reported.
Ardoino gave the number during a keynote at the Plan ₿ Forum in Lugano, Switzerland, while discussing Tether’s backing for Bitcoin and its mining investments. He did not say when the coins were acquired or which Tether entities hold them, leaving the timing and make-up of the position unexplained.
Also read: Tether posts $1.5B Q3 profit as reserves rebuild to $7.95B
Key facts
- Ardoino told the Lugano audience Tether holds “give or take 150,000 bitcoin” on its corporate balance sheet.
- Tether’s third-quarter attestation, prepared by BDO and published October 30, valued Bitcoin reserves at $8.37 billion as of September 30 — roughly 100,060 BTC at the November 3 price, per AMBCrypto.
- That Bitcoin line compared with about $5.8 billion at the end of June, according to Blockonomi.
- Total reserve assets stood at $191.45 billion against liabilities of about $183.50 billion, leaving excess reserves of $7.95 billion, up from $4.1 billion at the end of June.
- Tether earned $1.5 billion in net operating profit in the quarter, taking its nine-month total to $4.5 billion, Blockonomi reported.
A gap of roughly 50,000 BTC
The distance between the two numbers is substantial. Around 50,000 BTC separates Ardoino’s figure and the reserve report’s Bitcoin line at face value. AMBCrypto noted that Tether also holds long-term proprietary investments outside its token reserves, and that Ardoino’s remarks did not spell out how returns from those investments connect to his company-wide estimate.
The reserve report is not a full inventory of everything Tether owns. It is an attestation of the collateral behind USDT, valued on the reporting date. That structural difference helps explain why a company-level count can exceed the Bitcoin listed against the token.
Tether has been buying Bitcoin for several years. Blockonomi reported that the policy began in May 2023, when the company started directing part of its profits into the asset; AMBCrypto described a plan to allocate up to 15% of net realized operating profits to Bitcoin on a regular basis, announced about three years ago.
Treasury bills still dominate the backing
Bitcoin makes up only part of the reserve portfolio. Direct and indirect exposure to U.S. Treasury bills reached $132.4 billion at the end of September, of which about $122.84 billion was held directly and $9.52 billion sat in overnight reverse repurchase agreements, according to Blockonomi. The report also listed $19.08 billion in gold and $14.18 billion in secured loans.
USDT issuance stayed near $184 billion across the first nine months of 2026, Blockonomi reported. Ardoino said the company serves more than 730 million users and adds about 30 million new wallets each quarter. AMBCrypto put the net surplus at about $7.95 billion, a rise from $4.11 billion in June; Blockonomi described the same figure as up from $4.1 billion, a rounding difference between the two reports.
Why it matters
Tether is the largest issuer of dollar-pegged tokens, so its balance sheet is read as a gauge of how much risk sits behind USDT. A higher company-wide Bitcoin count suggests more exposure to a volatile asset than the attestation alone implies, even though that Bitcoin may sit outside the reserves that back the token. Readers tracking Tether as a corporate Bitcoin holder now have two reference points — the disclosed reserve line and the CEO’s statement — that do not reconcile.
What to watch
Tether’s next quarterly attestation will show whether the Bitcoin line keeps climbing from the $8.37 billion reported for September 30. Any breakdown from the company on which entities hold the coins, or on the acquisition schedule Ardoino left out, would close the gap between the two figures.
This article is informational only and is not financial advice. Cryptocurrency markets are volatile and uncertain; readers should do their own research before making any decision.
Reported by AMBCrypto.
Sources: AMBCrypto, Blockonomi