Tether, the issuer of USDT, has made a substantial Bitcoin acquisition to wrap up the third quarter, drawing significant interest from the cryptocurrency community. Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s CEO, confirmed this addition, placing the company among the largest BTC treasury holders.
Tether Expands Bitcoin Holdings by 8,889 BTC
Data from Arkham indicates that Tether acquired 8,889 BTC for $1 billion, moving the coins from Bitfinex’s hot wallet to the Bitcoin reserves of the USDT issuer. Tether now possesses 86,335 BTC, valued at approximately $10.23 billion. Ardoino confirmed the acquisition in an X post, emphasizing their ongoing commitment to accumulating BTC.
Related Reading
According to BitInfoCharts, Tether is among the largest holders of Bitcoin, controlling 0.4% of the total supply. Additionally, data from BitcoinTreasuries suggests that the USDT issuer will hold the position of the second-largest BTC treasury company, behind Michael Saylor’s Strategy.
Furthermore, Tether has additional Bitcoin exposure through its investment in Twenty One Capital (XXI), which ranks as the third largest BTC treasury holder, following Strategy and Mara Holdings. XXI currently retains 43,514 BTC on its balance sheet, some of which is attributed to Tether’s investment.
Tether has expressed its intention to persist in acquiring as much Bitcoin as possible. Ardoino mentioned last month that as challenges mount globally, their strategy will include continuing to channel a portion of their profits into secure assets like BTC, gold, and land. He emphasized that the company is not liquidating Bitcoin to invest in gold but is committed to acquiring both as part of their reserves.
Notably, Tether leads in revenue generation among crypto protocols. Recent data from DeFiLlama indicates that the stablecoin issuer earned $22.27 million in the past 24 hours and $155.27 million over the last week, providing ample profits for ongoing BTC acquisitions.
The Bottom for BTC
Interestingly, Tether’s most recent Bitcoin purchase occurred just as BTC prices were bottoming out. The USDT issuer acquired these coins when Bitcoin was trading at around $110,000. Since then, BTC has seen a sharp uptick, starting this month with an approximate 6% gain. Just a week prior, Bitcoin had dipped to as low as $108,000.
Related Reading
Expectations for Bitcoin’s performance this month are high, based on historical trends. October has historically been its second most favorable month, averaging gains of 20%. Developments such as a potential Fed rate cut may further enhance Bitcoin’s upward trajectory.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s price is hovering around $118,400, reflecting a more than 3% increase within the last 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap data.
Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com
