Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino says the company holds roughly 150,000 Bitcoin, about 50,000 more than its latest reserve report lists. Tether also says mining capacity built with partners now exceeds 50 EH/s, though it has not disclosed how much of that it owns.
Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, holds roughly 150,000 Bitcoin, CEO Paolo Ardoino told the audience at Lugano's Plan ₿ Forum on October 23-24. At early-November prices, that stash is worth between $11.5 billion and $12 billion.
According to Crypto News Flash, Ardoino said during his keynote that "it’s not much, but it’s honest work."
The 50,000 BTC missing from the reserve report
The third-quarter attestation prepared by BDO, published on October 30, lists $8.37 billion of Bitcoin among the assets backing USDT as of September 30. At the $83,621 per coin valuation used in the report, that equals about 100,060 BTC, compared with roughly 98,930 BTC at the end of June.
That leaves about 49,940 BTC in Ardoino's figure that the attestation does not show. The most likely explanation, according to the source, is Tether's proprietary investment book, which the company funds from profits and excess capital. Ardoino did not say where those coins sit, when Tether bought them or how it books them.
Mining capacity passes 50 EH/s
Ardoino also said that mining infrastructure developed by Tether and its partners has passed 50 exahashes per second, the unit that measures the computing power, or hashrate, miners contribute to the Bitcoin network. Tether has not disclosed how much of that capacity it owns outright.
Part of it sits with partners, including the Tether-backed operator Elektron. Neither Elektron nor Tether's other partners have said whether the 50 EH/s refers to installed, operating or contracted machines.
What the next attestation may show
BDO's engagement covers reserve figures at a single date, September 30, and is not a full audit of Tether's affiliated businesses. The corporate Bitcoin and the mining assets therefore remain outside independent verification.
Tether's fourth-quarter attestation, expected early in 2027, will show whether the reserve Bitcoin grows by more than price changes explain.
Source: Crypto News Flash
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