Tether: $13B In Profit, 100K BTC, 50 Tons of Gold, and a Billion-Dollar War Chest

At the 2025 Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino took the stage with a simple message: Tether is no longer just a stablecoin issuer. It’s an energy company, a Bitcoin miner, and a hardware innovator with ambitions far beyond USDT.

Last year, Tether reported $13 billion in profit. The company now holds over 100,000 bitcoin and more than 50 tons of gold, according to its latest disclosures. A slide in Ardoino’s keynote put the value of its bitcoin stash at roughly $10 billion—more than the GDP of some small countries. The reserves are also backed by $120 billion in U.S. Treasuries.

Addressing a skeptical room of BTC maximalists, Ardoino offered a firm defense of Tether’s diversified reserve strategy:

Bitcoin is perfect, gold is imperfect. Gold isn’t competing with bitcoin. It’s competing with fiat. That’s why we like a little bit of gold.

From Issuer to Industrial Power

In what may be the most overlooked corporate pivot in crypto, Ardoino revealed Tether has quietly invested more than $2 billion in energy infrastructure and Bitcoin mining. Ardoino, acknowledging Tether's past discretion on the topic, made a bold projection:

By the end of the year, I think it’s very realistic that Tether will be the biggest Bitcoin miner in the world.

The implications are significant. Tether is transforming into a vertically integrated crypto-industrial force. It now:

• Controls a leading stablecoin (USDT)
• Operates substantial energy infrastructure
• Builds and maintains Bitcoin mining operations

In doing so, it’s starting to power the very blockchain networks its tokens support.

Building Tools for a Parallel Economy

Ardoino also introduced QVAC, Tether’s AI platform designed with a decidedly anti-corporate ethos. The vision? AI agents that can hold and spend bitcoin through non-custodial wallets.

Ardoino outlined his vision of AI autonomy in financial ecosystems:

The AI agent will work for me, not under the rules of someone else.

He framed QVAC as a tool for personal empowerment, not corporate optimization.

Alongside QVAC, Tether is rolling out:

• An AI wallet architecture based on non-custodial control
• A Bitcoin-first wallet in partnership with Rumble
• Tools aimed at decentralized content and creator ecosystems

While details remain scarce, the move signals Tether’s growing interest in decentralized media and consumer-facing infrastructure.

The Stakes Behind the Pivot

With bitcoin at all-time highs and traditional markets showing signs of fatigue, Tether is positioning itself as more than a liquidity layer. It wants to be an anchor in the digital economy—from mining to AI to media. And it’s doing so with a blend of maximalism, pragmatism, and profit.

For now, the company remains deeply tied to Bitcoin’s future. But with billions in reserves and a growing portfolio of bets, Tether is no longer just tracking the market. It’s helping build it.

Related: Paolo Ardoino: “Winning Is a Marathon, It’s Not a Sprint”