Tether Explores Gold Investments Following Strong Market Gains

Highlights:

• Tether aims to broaden its investments throughout gold mining, trading, and royalty sectors.
• This year, Gold has outshone Bitcoin, demonstrating solid growth and market strength.
• CEO Ardoino praises gold’s stability, describing it as Bitcoin in its natural form.

Tether, the leading stablecoin issuer globally, is considering investments throughout the gold sector, including mining, refining, trading, and royalty firms, according to the Financial Times on Thursday.  This shift happens as gold has outpaced Bitcoin, rising 37% so far this year. In comparison, Bitcoin has only increased by 22% during the same period.

Tether keeps $8.7 billion worth of gold bars in a Zurich vault, backing one of its stablecoins. The company also issues USDT, the largest dollar-backed stablecoin, with a market cap of roughly $168 billion, according to CoinGecko. The firm recently announced a net profit of $4.9 billion for the second quarter, driven by strong gains in Bitcoin and gold. Gold, which touched $3,300 in April, has now climbed to a new peak above $3,500.

Stablecoin group Tether holds talks to invest in gold miners https://t.co/UEKenhtsXE

— Financial Times (@FT) September 5, 2025

CEO Ardoino Calls Gold “Natural Bitcoin”

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino is a strong supporter of gold. He has often shared his confidence in gold’s stability, calling it a safer and more reliable asset than any national currency. At the Bitcoin 2025 Conference, Ardoino referred to gold as “natural Bitcoin.” He explained that while many people see Bitcoin as “digital gold,” he personally considers gold itself as “Bitcoin in its natural form.”

Meanwhile, the link between gold and Bitcoin is slowly weakening, prompting investors to favor gold amid market uncertainty. Matrixport predicts gold may climb to $4,000 amid increasing market volatility and anticipation of Federal Reserve rate cuts.

Tether’s growing involvement in gold investments has attracted attention from the traditionally conservative mining sector. Some experts have questioned the company’s approach and long-term plan. “They like gold. I don’t think they have a strategy,” said one mining executive.

Tether Moves to Increase Gold Sector Investments

The top stablecoin issuer behind the gold-backed XAUt reportedly held talks with mining and investment groups about potential investment opportunities. One such group was Terranova Resources, a gold mining company registered in the British Virgin Islands, although no deal was finalized. These discussions follow Tether’s $82 million investment to secure an initial controlling stake of nearly 38% in Elemental Altus Royalties Corp, a gold royalty company listed in Toronto. 

The deal was finalized in June, with Tether buying shares from existing investors, including La Mancha Investments. This acquisition also gave Tether the option to raise its ownership to more than 50%. According to reports, the company has been in talks with several royalty firms and is exploring additional opportunities, which could include increasing its holding in Elemental Altus.

The issuer of the USDT stablecoin is looking into investing in gold mining companies, possibly anticipating significant value growth in the sector. This marks Tether’s first major investment move since former Trump crypto official Bo Hines joined the firm as a strategic advisor. Recently, well-known economist Peter Schiff noted that many mining companies are falling behind in benefiting from the ongoing gold rally.

Despite the sharp move up in gold and silver prices, so far there are no signs of excessive speculation. Despite solid gains today in the $GDX and $GDXJ, many individual names are trading lower as investors take profits. Don't sell your miners. It's far too early to take profits.

— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) September 3, 2025