Tether quietly becomes one of the world's largest gold holders, storing bullion in Swiss nuclear bunker
Jan 28, 2026
Key Points
- Tether has accumulated one of the world's largest gold hoards outside banks and nation-states, storing bullion in a Swiss nuclear bunker and positioning itself as a major precious metals player.
- CEO Paolo Ardoino says Tether is becoming one of the world's biggest gold central banks, with analyst estimates suggesting the company's buying contributed materially to gold's 65% rally last year.
- Tether launched USAT, a US-focused stablecoin to compete with USDC, with Cantor Fitzgerald managing reserves and serving as preferred primary dealer alongside its existing role for USDT.
Summary
Tether Holdings has quietly accumulated one of the world's largest gold hoards outside banks and nation-states, storing the bullion in a Swiss nuclear bunker. Over the past year, Tether has been moving more than a ton of gold weekly into a high-security vault in Switzerland. CEO Paolo Ardoino describes the company's role in gold markets as similar to that of a central bank and expects Tether to become "basically one of the biggest gold central banks in the world."
The strategy reflects crypto's original narrative around digital assets backed by hard money. Tether generates revenue from USDT, its dollar stablecoin with $186 billion in circulation. The company takes in real dollars in exchange for the token and invests them in treasuries and other assets including gold, generating billions in interest and trading profits. Rather than relying on third-party custodians, Tether stores the metal itself. Ardoino told Bloomberg the facility resembles "a James Bond kind of place" with multiple layers of thick steel doors.
Tether's gold purchases appear material to global prices. Jefferies estimates Tether's buying contributed to gold's 65% rally last year, describing the company as a significant new buyer that could drive sustained demand. Central banks and ETF investors collectively bought more than 1,500 tons last year, placing Tether within a much larger rush into the metal.
This week, Tether launched USAT, a US-focused stablecoin to compete with USDC. Anchorage Digital issues the token. Cantor Fitzgerald, already the designated reserve custodian for USDT, will manage reserves for the new coin and serve as its preferred primary dealer. USAT is available for trading.