Tether Holds About 150,000 Bitcoin (BTC), CEO Paolo Ardoino Says

By Nodora News · 3 November 2026

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino says the USDT issuer holds about 150,000 bitcoin (BTC), worth $11.5 billion, roughly 50,000 more than its Q3 reserve report shows.

Tether, the company behind the USDT stablecoin, holds roughly 150,000 bitcoin (BTC), according to chief executive Paolo Ardoino. He gave the figure on Tuesday, November 3, during his keynote at the Plan ₿ Forum in Lugano, Switzerland. At today's Bitcoin price of about $77,000 on OKX, that stash is worth around $11.5 billion. The surprise is the gap: Tether's latest quarterly reserve report points to only about 100,000 BTC, so roughly 50,000 coins are not accounted for in that document.

Key takeaways

• Ardoino said Tether holds "give or take 150,000 bitcoin", worth about $11.5 billion.
• Tether's Q3 2026 reserve report lists $8.37 billion of bitcoin, which works out to about 100,000 BTC.
• He did not say where the extra ~50,000 BTC are held or when they were bought.
• The likeliest home is Tether's separate investment arm, which sits outside the USDT reserves, but Tether hasn't confirmed that.
• The comments landed on a weak day for crypto, with Bitcoin (BTC) down about 1.2% at around $77,050.

What Tether's CEO said about its Bitcoin holdings

Speaking on stage in Lugano, Ardoino described the company's Bitcoin position in a single, casual line: "We have give or take 150,000 bitcoin ourselves." He made the remark while talking about how Tether supports the wider Bitcoin ecosystem, and alongside a claim that Tether now has more than 730 million users worldwide, growing by about 30 million wallets each quarter.

He did not share wallet addresses, a breakdown by entity, or a purchase timeline. As CoinDesk pointed out, that means the number should not be read as a fresh 50,000 BTC buy. It is a statement about what the wider Tether group owns, not an announcement of new purchases.

How 150,000 BTC compares with Tether's Q3 reserve report

Tether publishes a quarterly report on the assets that back USDT, checked by the accounting firm BDO. That report is the most detailed public view of the company's Bitcoin, and it tells a smaller story than Ardoino's figure:

• Bitcoin in USDT reserves (Sept 30): $8.37 billion, valued at $83,621.23 per coin
• Implied holdings: about 100,060 BTC, per CoinDesk's calculation
• End of June: roughly 98,930 BTC, so only about 1,130 BTC were added in the third quarter
• Total reserves: $191.45 billion against $183.50 billion of liabilities
• Excess reserves: $7.95 billion, up from $4.11 billion in June

Most of the jump in the dollar value of Tether's reserve Bitcoin last quarter came from a higher price rather than new coins. That makes the extra 50,000 BTC in Ardoino's figure stand out even more.

Where the extra 50,000 Bitcoin could be

The reserve report only covers assets that back USDT. Tether also runs a separate investment business, Tether Investments, which it says is funded from profits and excess capital and kept apart from the stablecoin reserves. Anything held there would not show up in the attestation at all.

That is the most straightforward explanation, but Ardoino did not confirm it, so for now it remains an open question. Some outlets also note it is unclear whether these coins will appear in a future published report.

Tether has been building its Bitcoin position since May 2023, when it said it would put up to 15% of its net realised operating profits into BTC each quarter and hold the coins itself rather than through a custodian. According to Crypto Briefing, one of its larger single purchases was 8,888 BTC at the end of 2025.

Why Tether's Bitcoin stash matters

Tether is one of the most profitable companies in crypto, largely thanks to interest on the US Treasury bills that back USDT. When a firm that size keeps turning profits into Bitcoin, it becomes one of the market's biggest long-term holders, alongside public Bitcoin treasury companies and spot ETFs.

Transparency matters here too. Tether has faced years of questions about what backs USDT, and a number given on stage is not the same as an audited figure. A clear breakdown of where the extra coins sit would help traders judge how much Bitcoin is really locked away for the long term.

Bitcoin market reaction

The disclosure didn't move the market much. Bitcoin is still under pressure after a rough week that included the record Binance hack and heavy ETF outflows. Prices on OKX at the time of writing:

• Bitcoin (BTC): about $77,050, down roughly 1.2% in 24 hours
• Ether (ETH): about $2,270, down roughly 0.8%
• Tether (USDT): holding its $1 peg

Spot Bitcoin ETFs have been bleeding money too. For background, see our report on BlackRock's IBIT shedding $405 million in a day. You can follow live prices on the Nodora charts page.

What to watch next for Tether and BTC

• A breakdown from Tether: whether the company says which entity holds the extra ~50,000 BTC.
• The Q4 reserve report: due early next year, it will show whether reserve Bitcoin keeps growing under the 15% profit policy.
• On-chain tracking: analytics firms may try to match the 150,000 BTC figure to known Tether wallets.
• Bitcoin's $77,000 area: a level traders are watching closely after this week's selling.

This article is for information only and is not financial advice.

#Bitcoin #Tether #USDT #Stablecoins #Crypto Treasury

This article is general information, not financial advice.