The company behind the famous USDT stablecoin (USDT-USD), Tether, is now buying gold faster than most countries. Every week, the firm adds between one and two tons of physical gold (CM:XAUUSD) to its collection. At today’s high prices, that means they are spending about $1 billion every single month to grow their hoard.
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According to CEO Paolo Ardoino, the company now owns 140 metric tons of gold. This massive pile is worth about $24 billion. To keep it safe, they store the bars in a high-security bunker in the Swiss Alps that used to be a nuclear shelter. Ardoino calls it a “James Bond kind of place” because it is so hidden and well-guarded.
Tether Builds a Global Reserve in the Swiss Alps
Tether is no longer just a crypto company. It is now one of the top 30 gold holders in the world. In late 2025 alone, the company bought 27 tons of gold, which is more than almost any other country bought in that same time.
The company stores its gold in a former Swiss military bunker built to survive a nuclear war. The vault has thick steel doors and multiple layers of security to protect the $24 billion fortune. This gold supports the company’s own wealth and its special gold-backed coin, XAUT.
The Growing Danger of “Paper Gold”
While many people invest in gold through exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Björn Schmidtke, CEO of the gold-treasury firm Aurelion, warns that these products are often just “paper gold.” He estimates that 98% of gold investments are currently unallocated IOUs.
In a major financial crisis, Schmidtke believes this system could fail because it is logistically impossible to deliver billions of dollars in physical bars to everyone at once. He argues that tokenized gold, like Tether’s XAUT, is better because it provides digital proof of which specific bar an investor owns and allows for easier delivery.
Gold Hits Historic Highs amid Dollar Uncertainty
The price of gold has reached a record $5,311 per ounce this week. This surge is happening because many investors are losing confidence in the U.S. dollar and government debt. Tether is leaning into this darkness by treating gold as the ultimate insurance policy.
In simple terms, Tether is acting like a digital country. The company makes so much profit from its dollar stablecoin that it can afford to buy up a huge portion of the world’s gold supply.
At the time of writing, the gold spot U.S. dollar price sits at $5,262.39.
