Tether Holds $72.5B in U.S. Treasury Bills, CTO Says

Tether’s chief technology officer (CTO) Paolo Ardoino announced via a Tuesday tweet that the leading stablecoin-issuing company has emerged as one of the largest holders of United States Treasury bills, holding up to 72.5 billion of the debt instrument.

Tether Ranks #22 Among U.S. T-Bill Holders

Ardoino added that Tether’s current portfolio of U.S. Treasury bills positions it as the 22nd largest buyer of the asset globally. He mentioned that the rank puts the company ahead of countries like the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Mexico, Australia, and Spain.

The Tether CTO’s claim gains weight, especially as China has been selling off its U.S. Treasury debt and opting for gold. According to Wall Street Silver, “China’s ownership of US Treasury debt is down almost $481B from peak levels” and the “rate of selling is accelerating.”

Tether Bolsters Reserves

Investing in U.S. Treasury bills helps Tether to generate interest income on their reserves. By holding as much as 72.5 billion worth of Treasury securities, Tether indirectly tells its users that it has a healthy reserve backing users’ USDT stablecoin holdings.

Ardoino emphasized that USDT “is a lifeline to protect [users] from the insane inflation of their national currencies.”

In July, Tether revealed in its 2023 Q2 attestation report that it had $3.3 in excess reserves. The audit was conducted by the auditing firm BDO Italia. Part of these funds have been used to support the growth of other segments of the crypto industry, such as the bitcoin mining business. Recall that the USDT issuer announced in May its decision to debut a Bitcoin mining facility in Uruguay.

Tether applauded its performance over the first half of 2023, especially after episodes of bank collapse that occurred earlier this year. In March, notable banks such as Silicon Valley, Silvergate, and Signature crashed, affecting several institutions and retailers. Circle, another stablecoin issuer, took a hit of $3.3 billion tied to Silicon Valley Bank.