Tether Adds 961 BTC to Bitcoin Reserve, Bringing Total Holdings to Over $8.8 Billion

New transfer adds to growing Bitcoin reserves

Stablecoin issuer Tether has grown its Bitcoin reserves by an additional 961 BTC, according to on-chain data analysis. The newly added holdings, worth roughly $97.3 million, were identified in a wallet labeled by analytics platforms Nansen and Arkham as part of Tether’s official Bitcoin reserves.

The most recent BTC transactions involving Tether’s Bitcoin treasury wallet. Source: Arkham

The transfer was executed on November 6 from a Bitfinex hot wallet (Bitfinex shares the same parent company as Tether) raising questions about whether the transaction represents a new acquisition or an internal reallocation of assets. Despite the ambiguity, the address involved has a history of receiving funds associated with Tether’s prior Bitcoin purchases.

This latest movement marks the first major inflow into Tether’s reserve wallet since late September, when the company transferred 8,888 BTC (valued at $1 billion at the time) to the same address. Arkham Intelligence data now places Tether’s Bitcoin holdings at approximately 87,296 BTC, equivalent to around $8.9 billion at current market prices.

Strategic BTC positioning amid market fluctuations

Tether began accumulating Bitcoin in 2022 and in May 2023 announced plans to allocate 15% of its quarterly net profits toward BTC purchases as part of its diversification strategy. The company has continued to reinforce this strategy, using Bitcoin as a hedge against market fluctuations and to bolster the backing of its USDT stablecoin.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has previously indicated that the firm holds over 100,000 BTC, although recent withdrawals to affiliated entities like Twenty One have shifted some of those assets out of reserve-labeled wallets. Still, the company’s reserve management practices position it among the largest corporate holders of Bitcoin globally, trailing only firms like Strategy.

As of its Q3 attestation, Tether reported Bitcoin reserves valued at $9.9 billion and overall profits exceeding $10 billion for the first three quarters of 2024. The company also holds over $135 billion in U.S. Treasurys, making it one of the top 20 global holders by volume.