Tether Reveals $8B in Gold Stored in Secret Swiss Vault
Tether has quietly built a gold vault empire. The stablecoin giant, now headquartered in El Salvador, confirmed it owns nearly 80 metric tons of gold—worth around $8 billion—stored in a private vault somewhere in Switzerland.
The facility, fully owned by Tether, was set up to cut long-term custody costs and assert control over the company’s expanding physical reserves.
CEO Paolo Ardoino told Bloomberg the move is part of a broader cost-saving and independence strategy. “If you have your own vault, eventually, with the size, it gets much cheaper,” he said. With $159 billion in USDT circulating, nearly 5% of Tether’s reserves are now in precious metals, most of it in gold.
Unlike other institutions that rely on third-party custodians, Tether chose to manage storage internally. That decision not only saves on fees—typically 50 basis points—but signals a push into a realm traditionally dominated by central banks. Tether’s gold position is now on par with major global banks like UBS.
But there’s a catch: new regulations in the U.S. and EU could force stablecoin issuers to stick to cash and short-term government bonds as reserve assets. That may require Tether to unwind its gold holdings if it seeks formal regulatory approval in those regions.
To sidestep that issue, Tether also issues a separate gold-backed token, XAUT, pegged to physical gold held in Switzerland. With 7.7 tons backing roughly $819 million in circulation, it remains small compared to mainstream gold ETFs but is part of a long-term strategy. If XAUT scales, vault ownership could save the company hundreds of millions in fees annually.
Ardoino sees gold as a hedge against fiat instability, citing growing BRICS demand and mounting U.S. debt. “Gold is logically safer than any national currency,” he said. But Tether’s increasing reliance on hard-to-track assets like gold is likely to deepen regulatory scrutiny.
Even so, the company is doubling down. By owning physical infrastructure and hedging with hard assets, Tether is preparing for a future that may be less reliant on traditional financial rails—and potentially harder for regulators to pin down.
Alex is an experienced financial journalist and cryptocurrency enthusiast. With over 8 years of experience covering the crypto, blockchain, and fintech industries, he is well-versed in the complex and ever-evolving world of digital assets. His insightful and thought-provoking articles provide readers with a clear picture of the latest developments and trends in the market. His approach allows him to break down complex ideas into accessible and in-depth content. Follow his publications to stay up to date with the most important trends and topics.
