Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino announced that his company holds around 150,000 Bitcoin on its balance sheet during a speech at the Plan ₿ Forum in Lugano, Switzerland. Based on current market estimates, the crypto asset holdings are valued at more than $11.5 billion.
The USDT stablecoin issuer has been routinely buying Bitcoin since implementing its May 2023 policy of allocating a portion of operating profits into crypto assets. However, the Bitcoin allocation represents only one component of the financial structure revealed by Ardoino.
Excess Reserves Surpass $7.95 Billion
The third-quarter reserve attestation report prepared by accounting firm BDO as of September 30 recorded the value of Bitcoin backing USDT at $8.37 billion. The figure at the end of September represents an increase from roughly $5.8 billion recorded at the end of June.
At the end of the third quarter, Tether’s total reserve assets stood at $191.45 billion against liabilities of around $183.50 billion. Based on those figures, the company’s excess reserves surged to $7.95 billion from $4.1 billion at the end of June.
Operational performance further bolstered this financial standing. Tether posted a net operating profit of $1.5 billion for the third quarter of 2026. The additional Q3 results brought the company’s cumulative net profit for the first nine months of the year to $4.5 billion.
The USDT issuer’s market reach also continues to expand. Ardoino stated that his company now serves more than 730 million users globally, adding approximately 30 million new wallets each quarter.
US Treasury Holdings Continue to Dominate
Although Tether’s Bitcoin holdings are worth tens of billions of dollars, government debt instruments still make up the largest share of its reserve balance sheet. Tether’s combined exposure to US Treasury bills, through both direct and indirect holdings, reached nearly $132.4 billion.
The composition of the debt holdings is divided into two parts: direct holdings of $122.84 billion and overnight reverse repos worth $9.52 billion. Beyond government bonds and Bitcoin, the company’s balance sheet includes gold holdings valued at $19.08 billion and secured loan facilities of $14.18 billion.
Expansion Beyond Financial Markets
Beyond the balance sheet figures, Ardoino introduced a technology initiative dubbed Independence Stack on stage in Lugano. Inspired by Isaac Asimov’s science fiction novel Foundation, the concept is designed to build a self-sustaining ecosystem across three core sectors: finance, energy, and communications.
A concrete realization of the initiative is already underway in Africa. Tether has funded approximately 5,000 solar-powered battery kiosks that supply power to two million users and employ 30,000 female workers. For long-term goals, the deployment target is set at 100,000 kiosks within five years.
For more than 730 million USDT users worldwide, this balance sheet disclosure highlights the asset backing supporting their daily transactions. Reserve liquidity remains anchored by government debt securities, while the Bitcoin holdings and technology projects in Africa are funded from accumulated operating profits.
Reported by crypto.news.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
