Ardoino says Tether holds about 150,000 BTC, above attested reserves

Key points

• Paolo Ardoino put Tether's own Bitcoin at about 150,000 BTC, valued at $11.5bn at an estimated $77,000 per coin
• Tether International's third-quarter 2026 attestation by BDO reported $8.37bn of Bitcoin as of 30 Sept
• A wallet publicly attributed to Tether held 96,932 BTC, about 64.6% of the total Ardoino described

Tether's Bitcoin fortune is larger than its latest reserve attestation shows, according to chief executive Paolo Ardoino. Speaking at the Plan ₿ Forum in Lugano, Switzerland, he said the company holds roughly 150,000 BTC, which he valued at $11.5bn using an estimated $77,000 per coin. If accurate, that would make Tether the largest disclosed privately held corporate holder of Bitcoin, behind Strategy, which reported 849,327 BTC in a purchase announcement the previous day, according to BitcoinTreasuries.net rankings.

The figure sits well above the company's published accounts. Tether International's third-quarter 2026 reserve attestation, prepared by BDO, reported $8.37bn of Bitcoin as of 30 Sept, or more than 100,000 BTC at the report's reference price. The gap of about 50,000 BTC is worth roughly $3.87bn at prices cited in the article. The attestation covers reserves backing USDT, so investments held by affiliated businesses may fall outside it.

Onchain records offer a third view. An address publicly attributed to Tether, beginning bc1qjasf9z3h7w3jspk, held 96,932 BTC and was first active on 30 Sept 2022. It has received about 112,340 BTC across 212 transactions and sent out 15,408 BTC, and its funds came directly from the exchange Bitfinex, which Tether's parent company also owns.

Tether adopted a policy in May 2023 to put up to 15% of operating profits into Bitcoin. Its September statement listed $191bn in reserve assets against $184bn in liabilities, including $132bn of US Treasury exposure and 142.8 metric tons of gold.

Read the full story on Bitcoin.com News →