Tether CEO refutes claims that the firm sold Bitcoin and bought gold

Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, the issuer of the largest stablecoin USDT, took to X on Sunday to refute claims about the firm selling its Bitcoin (BTC) to invest in gold. In his post, Ardoino wrote that “Tether didn’t sell any Bitcoin,” adding that:

“While the world continues to get darker, Tether will continue to invest part of its profits into safe assets like Bitcoin, Gold and Land.”

How the rumor started

On Sept. 6, YouTuber Clive Thompson claimed that “recently, Tether has been buying gold and selling Bitcoin.” Thompson’s assertion was based on an examination of Tether’s statements of assets.

According to Thompson, Tether sold over $1 billion BTC and purchased over $1.6 billion gold in the last quarter. This indicates that Tether is dumping Bitcoin in favor of gold, as per Thompson.

Flaws in Thompson’s claims

Jan3 CEO Samson Mow pointed out flaws in Thompson’s theory based on public data. In an X post, Mow explained that Thompson arrived at the wrong conclusion since he assumed that a fall in BTC holdings of Tether automatically meant they sold it for gold.

In the first and second quarter of this year, Tether reported holdings of 92,650 BTC and 83,274 BTC respectively. According to Mow, Thompson forgot to factor in Tether’s funding of a separate project called Twenty One Capital (XXI). Tether transferred 14,000 BTC on June 2 and 5,800 BTC in July, sending a total of 19,800 BTC to XXI.

Therefore, Mow explained that Tether had 4,624 BTC more in Q2 2025 than the previous quarter. Accounting for July’s transfer, Tether “has (at least) a net increase in Bitcoin holdings of 10,424 BTC,” Mow wrote.

Consequently, Mow dismissed Thompson’s claim as “false” and labeled it a “desperate” attempt to create bearish news surrounding Bitcoin.

Tether’s deepening relationship with Gold

The latest development surrounding Tether comes just days after the company announced that it’s looking into investing in gold mining firms. But Tether has been diversifying into gold for a while.

In June, the stablecoin issuer spent $90 million to acquire a substantial stake in a company specializing in gold royalties. Earlier this week, Tether announced that it will pour another $100 million into the same firm—Elemental Altus Royalties Corp.

Additionally, Tether issues the gold-backed stablecoin Tether Gold (XAUT)—XAUT is backed by about 7.66 tons of gold stored in Switzerland. Around 5% of USDT reserves is also held in gold by Tether.