Tether invests another $380 million in bitcoin

The company is the 11th largest asset holder

18.01.2024 - 15:57

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3 min

What’s new? Tether, the issuer of USDT, the largest stablecoin by capitalization, invested an additional $380 million in bitcoinin IV 2023, bringing the total investment to $2,8 billion. Thus, at the end of the reporting period, the company bought 88888 BTC, and now its account holds 66 465 coins.

The Block’s material

What else is known? Tether started investing in bitcoin in September 2022 and initially bought 33 980 coins. Since then, it has invested in the asset quarterly. The second largest single investment was the purchase of 15 915 BTC in March 2023, with the most recent purchase of 8888 coins coming in third.

The company first disclosed its bitcoin holdings in May 2023 as part of its reserves report. At that time, the company also said it would start regularly allocating 15% of its profits to BTC investments.

MicroStrategy has increased its investment in bitcoin to $5,9 billion

The company’s accounts hold 189 150 coins with an average value of $31 168

It has not disclosed its bitcoin addresses, but analyst Tom Wang of 21.co discovered a purportedly company-owned wallet last August. A source of The Block publication later confirmed its ownership. The company turned out to be the 11th largest holder of bitcoins and continues to hold that spot thanks to its latest purchase.

In early December, Tether’s unrealized profit from investments in the asset exceeded $1,1 billion.

In addition to investing in the asset itself, the company is also developing its mining business. In November, the new head of Tether, Paolo Ardoino, said that $500 million would be invested in bitcoin mining over the next six months. The company operates data centers in Uruguay, Paraguay, and El Salvador, and is a shareholder in Europe’s largest miner, Northern Data AG. And together with the authorities of El Salvador, it launched a citizenship program for crypto investments.

USDT’s share in the total volume of stablecoins reached 71%

The figure grew by 21% over 2023

Meanwhile, the UN recently said that USDT is actively used by criminals in Southeast Asia for money laundering. Tether responded by offering the organization cooperation in developing AML mechanisms.

Later, the USDT issuer filed applications for registration of four trademarks in Russia.

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