Tether transferred roughly $70.5 million in Bitcoin into reserves while simultaneously expanding its ecosystem with a new self-custodial wallet.
Tether, issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin USDT, moved 951 bitcoin valued at $70.5 million into a reserve wallet linked to its treasury operations, according to on-chain data from blockchain analytics firms including Arkham Intelligence. The transfer originated from a Bitfinex hot wallet and landed in an address labeled as a Bitcoin reserve account tied to the company.
The transaction aligns with a profit allocation policy introduced in 2023 in which Tether assigns 15% of net realized profits toward Bitcoin purchases each quarter. The approach converts revenue from stablecoin issuance into a growing Bitcoin position held on the company balance sheet.
On-chain records show Tether’s Bitcoin holdings have expanded into one of the largest corporate positions in the sector. Reserve addresses attributed to the company hold about 97,141 BTC placing Tether among the top holders of Bitcoin among private entities. Holdings include transfers accumulated over multiple purchase cycles since 2022.
The purchases have been a steady source of demand for Bitcoin supply. Each allocation removes coins from exchange liquidity and moves them into long-term custody. The structure ties acquisition size to business revenue which links stablecoin usage growth with Bitcoin accumulation.
The strategy also affects perceptions of stablecoin reserve composition. Tether states that most backing for USDT consists of U.S. Treasury securities with Bitcoin representing a smaller portion of total reserves. The addition of Bitcoin introduces price exposure to the reserve portfolio while maintaining dollar-linked liabilities.
Tether.wallet revealed
Yesterday, Tether announced the launch of tether.wallet, a self-custodial digital wallet designed to bring its global financial infrastructure directly to end users, marking a shift from backend liquidity provider to consumer-facing platform.
The wallet supports key assets including USDT, Bitcoin, and tokenized gold (XAU₮), focusing on what the company describes as essential stores of value for users, particularly in emerging markets.
Built to simplify crypto usage, tether.wallet introduces human-readable addresses and allows transaction fees to be paid in the transferred asset, eliminating the need for separate gas tokens. The app is fully self-custodial, with private keys stored locally on user devices.
CEO Paolo Ardoino framed the launch as a major step toward financial inclusion, targeting billions underserved by traditional banking systems. The product builds on Tether’s existing network, which the company claims reaches over 570 million users globally.
The wallet is powered by Tether’s open-source Wallet Development Kit and supports multiple blockchains including Ethereum, Polygon, and Bitcoin. The move signals Tether’s broader strategy to expand into direct user applications and enable future machine-to-machine and AI-driven payments.
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