Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, acquired 8,888 Bitcoin during the first quarter of 2025, as per onchain data.
Onchain transaction details indicate that Tether transferred its newly obtained Bitcoin (BTC), estimated to be valued at around $750 million at the time of this writing, from a Bitfinex address to a wallet under its control. Insights from the onchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence reveal that Tether currently holds 100,521 BTC, which amounts to approximately $8.46 billion.
Tether’s Bitcoin balance chart. Source: Arkham Intelligence
This development follows reports from mid-February suggesting that Tether might have to sell part of its Bitcoin holdings to adhere to proposed US regulations. A report from JP Morgan noted that potential regulation around stablecoins could classify a significant portion of Tether’s current reserves as non-compliant:
“Under the proposed bills, Tether would have to implicitly replace its non-compliant assets with compliant assets. […] This would imply sales of their non-compliant assets (such as precious metals, Bitcoin, corporate paper, secured loans.)”
However, Tether contested the findings of the JP Morgan analyst. In correspondence with Cointelegraph, a Tether spokesperson stated that “they understand neither Bitcoin nor Tether,” emphasizing that US stablecoin regulations have yet to be finalized.
Related: Binance halts Tether USDT trading in Europe to meet MiCA regulations
Tether emerges as an investment powerhouse
In 2024, Tether reported profits of $13 billion, resulting in a substantial capital reserve that the firm directed into large-scale investment projects. Due to this remarkable growth, Tether became the world’s seventh-largest buyer of US Treasurys, overtaking economically significant countries like Canada, Taiwan, Mexico, Norway, and Hong Kong.
By the end of March, Tether invested €10 million (approximately $10.8 million) in the Italian media company Be Water. In February, the firm obtained a majority stake in Juventus FC, a prominent Serie A football club based in Turin, Italy, and also expressed interest in acquiring a majority stake in Adecoagro, a South American agribusiness.
The firm’s influence is growing as a result of these investments. Rumble, a video platform that received a $775 million investment from Tether in late 2024, recently launched a wallet for content creators to receive payments with support for Tether’s USDt.
Related: ‘Stablecoin multiverse’ begins: Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino
USDt continues to expand
Tether’s USDt is recognized as the leading stablecoin and the third-largest digital asset by market capitalization, according to CoinMarketCap data. As of this writing, USDt’s total supply is just shy of 148 billion.
With minor fluctuations from the US dollar’s value, this supply would estimate the current market cap at nearly $148 billion. Whale Alert data indicates that on March 31, Tether minted an additional billion dollars’ worth of USDt on the Tron blockchain.
USDt minting, burning, and Bitcoin price. Source: Whale Alert
Historically, Bitcoin’s price tends to rise following increases in USDt minting, and major USDt minting events have commonly preceded significant Bitcoin price surges. David Pakman, managing partner at the investment firm CoinFund, recently stated that the global stablecoin supply could reach $1 trillion by the end of 2025, potentially acting as a key catalyst for broader cryptocurrency market expansion.
Magazine: Chinese Tether laundromat, Bhutan enjoys a recent Bitcoin surge: Asia Express
