Tether, the crypto giant behind the $159 billion USDT stablecoin, just revealed it's holding nearly 80 tons of gold—roughly $8 billion—in a vault so secret the company won't say where it is. CEO Paolo Ardoino called it “the most secure vault in the world,” and with that kind of treasure, you'd hope so. The decision to go in-house on gold custody? Cost. “If Tether's gold token grows to $100 billion, paying 50 basis points is a lot,” Ardoino noted. At current levels, nearly 5% of the firm's reserves are in precious metals, putting it in the same league as UBS when it comes to gold exposure.
But that playbook could soon hit a wall. New rules in the EU—and proposals in the U.S.—could block stablecoins like USDT from being backed by anything other than cash or near-cash assets. That means Tether may need to unwind its gold position if it wants access to those markets. Its gold-backed token, XAUT, is still a small fish—representing just $819 million in value compared to major ETFs—but the message is loud and clear: Tether sees gold not just as a hedge, but as part of its long game.
Zooming out, this move taps into a broader shift. Gold is up about 25% this year, driven by central bank buying (especially BRICS countries), geopolitical jitters, and questions around U.S. debt. “Gold should be logically safer than any national currency,” Ardoino said. Whether that logic holds with regulators is another story—but Tether's bet is that in a world of shaky fiat and tightening rules, owning the vault and the metal might just be its moat.
