From Bitcoin reserve asset allocation to Mining business, from ecological investment to infrastructure construction, Tether is delving into the nerve center of the new global financial order.
Written by: Nancy, PANews
At the center stage of the Bitcoin conference in 2025, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stands in front of an image of Wukong and states, "Bitcoin is my Wukong, it's our friend."
This seemingly emotional expression is, in fact, a microcosm of Tether's strategic core. As the issuer of the world's largest stablecoin USDT, Tether is embedding itself in multiple layers of the Bitcoin ecosystem in a builder's manner, from reserve asset allocation to Mining business, from ecological investment to infrastructure construction, Tether is delving into the nerve center of the new global financial order.
Due to Tether's deep penetration in the Bitcoin system, its actions have also sparked an increasing number of conspiracy theories and heated discussions abroad, questioning whether it artificially raises Bitcoin prices by continuously issuing USDT, creating a "closed-loop bubble" supported by Bitcoin reserves, gold, and the issuance of USDT.
Establishing Bitcoin reserve strategy, identified as the only large buyer
Since May 2023, Tether has announced that it will regularly allocate up to 15% of its realized net operating profits to purchase Bitcoin. Tether expects that its current and future holdings of Bitcoin in reserves will not exceed the shareholder capital buffer and will further strengthen and diversify reserves. As of the first quarter of 2025, Tether holds Bitcoin worth approximately 7.66 billion USD, a significant increase compared to the previous quarter.
The "Gold + Bitcoin" dual reserve mechanism is Tether's hedge against the risks of sovereign fiat currencies, bringing substantial financial returns. Ardoino recently disclosed that Tether currently holds over 100,000 Bitcoins and more than 50 tons of gold. In 2024 alone, Tether's net profit reached 13.7 billion USD, with investments in gold and Bitcoin contributing approximately 5 billion USD in profit. Ardoino has stated that they hold gold not to challenge Bitcoin, but to challenge the centralized fiat currency system.
However, Jacob King, the founder of WhaleWire, pointed out that "Tether is the only large buyer in the entire Bitcoin market, relying on continuous money printing and taking over. It raises the Bitcoin price by issuing new USDT and then sells the excess, purchasing dollars and gold as reserves to prove its legitimacy." He refers to this model as the "ultimate house of cards," suggesting that the entire system could become unbalanced once the stablecoin faces regulation or if Bitcoin demand dries up.
Tether's ambitions for Bitcoin go far beyond just holding coins. In April of this year, Tether, in partnership with SoftBank and Cantor, initiated the establishment of a crypto investment joint venture called Twenty One Capital, aiming to create a global Bitcoin asset acquisition and management platform with a total scale of $3 billion. This platform is seen as Tether's structural layout to benchmark MicroStrategy. In this joint venture deal, Tether holds 42.8% of the joint venture's equity and 51.7% of the voting rights, effectively holding the leading position. Cantor, on the other hand, holds 5% of Tether's shares, and its CEO, Brandon Lutnick, is the son of U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.
"Jack Mallers (CEO of Twenty One Capital) has a close relationship with Tether and Bitfinex, and his other company Strike has long had a close relationship with Tether. They claim to have a large market demand, but most of the Bitcoin in their reserves comes directly from Tether. This is a 'shell operation' in a larger liquidity trick. Jacob King stated on social media that if stablecoins face regulation in the U.S. in the future, Tether will find it difficult to continue injecting liquidity, and the continued massive net outflow of funds from Bitcoin spot ETFs in recent months indicates that institutions are rapidly retreating."
On-chain data shows that Twenty One Capital's Bitcoin reserves come from Tether, which recently injected over 37,000 BTC through five transfers, worth nearly $4 billion.
Tether has invested over $770 million in the video platform Rumble, which has also established its own Bitcoin vault, claiming that Bitcoin has the potential to serve as an inflation hedge.
Building self-operated mining farms and strategic investments simultaneously, aiming to become one of the largest miners in the world.
Tether's ambitions go far beyond asset reserves. As early as 2023, Tether launched a renewable energy-driven Bitcoin mining project in Uruguay, utilizing the local abundant clean energy resources (such as hydropower and wind energy) to create an efficient and sustainable mining base. Shortly thereafter, it participated in El Salvador's volcanic energy program, becoming a capital force driving one of the world's largest geothermal Bitcoin mining sites. Following that, Tether continued to expand its energy map in Latin America, having invested a total of 500 million dollars across Uruguay, Paraguay, and El Salvador to build vertically integrated mining bases.
"The so-called Bitcoin investment by El Salvador is actually a carefully crafted illusion. The Bitcoins in its treasury were directly transferred from Bitfinex and Tether. Tether even personally drafted all of El Salvador's Bitcoin legislation. However, many people have not noticed that El Salvador has quietly abandoned the implementation of Bitcoin as legal tender. Tether and its internal network cannot support all of this, as there is fundamentally no real market demand." Some of Jacob King's statements lack clear evidence, but in February of this year, El Salvador did officially cancel Bitcoin's status as legal tender through the Bitcoin law, and merchants and institutions are no longer forced to accept Bitcoin, nor can it be used for tax payments. Polls show that the vast majority of the public have not benefited, and the economic situation has not improved.
In addition to building its own mining farms, Tether is also actively expanding its global mining footprint through investments and acquisitions. So far, it has invested in companies such as Bitdeer, Northern Data Group, Blockstream, and Swan Mining, covering areas such as chip procurement, server manufacturing, data center construction, and enterprise-level computing power hosting, becoming an important lever supporting Tether's Bitcoin mining layout.
This year, Tether took a further step by announcing the deployment of computing power to the OCEAN mining pool to advance the construction of decentralized Bitcoin mining infrastructure. At the same time, Tether recently announced plans to open-source its Bitcoin mining software, which will allow new miners to enter the market without relying on expensive third-party providers.
According to Ardoino's disclosure at the Bitcoin 2025 conference, Tether has invested over $2 billion in the energy and infrastructure sector, with actual investments in Bitcoin mining being even higher. It is expected that by the end of this year, Tether will become the world's largest Bitcoin miner, a prediction that encompasses all listed companies.
From Bitcoin Chain Issuance to Cultural Penetration: A Full-Stack Layout
Tether is advancing its full-stack strategic layout, continuously expanding the boundaries and influence of the Bitcoin ecosystem.
For example, on the technical front, in addition to chains like Ethereum and TRON, Tether has issued USDT to Bitcoin-related protocols through Omni, Liquid, Lightning, RGB, and supports the popular Bitcoin sidechain network Plasma, which is expected to natively support USDT; in terms of wallet tools, Tether AI has launched a self-custody wallet WDK, which natively supports Bitcoin and USDT, allowing enterprises, applications, websites, and even AI Agents to connect, thereby further lowering the barriers to Bitcoin financial infrastructure; in terms of the payment ecosystem, Tether has donated to the open-source project BTC Pay Server to support the ongoing development and optimization of its open-source crypto payment processor.
At the cultural and educational level, Tether co-hosted the Plan B Summit with the city of Lugano, Switzerland, sponsored local football clubs, and introduced the brand image of Bitcoin into European stadium culture; at the same time, through the Tether Education Program, it has established partnerships with universities around the world to promote the dissemination of Bitcoin knowledge and cultivate the next generation of crypto natives. Twenty One Capital will also focus on the dissemination of Bitcoin-related knowledge in the future, creating educational content and video media, as well as developing a series of financial and consulting services related to Bitcoin.
"For me, the most important thing is that I can contribute to building a more accessible, more resilient, and more useful Bitcoin ecosystem. If I can play a role in infrastructure, technology, and education, that’s enough. The story of Bitcoin has never been about any one person, but about the global community's dedication to an idea - to steadfastly build a future, even in the lows, even when misunderstood. If I can play a role in helping more people join the ecosystem, empowering them with sovereignty and security tools, that will be a mission worth remembering." Ardoino said in a recent interview with Bitcoin News.
The content is for reference only, not a solicitation or offer. No investment, tax, or legal advice provided. See Disclaimer for more risks disclosure.
Caught in the conspiracy theory of BTC invisible manipulators? Unveiling Tether's Bitcoin strategy panorama.
Written by: Nancy, PANews
At the center stage of the Bitcoin conference in 2025, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stands in front of an image of Wukong and states, "Bitcoin is my Wukong, it's our friend."
This seemingly emotional expression is, in fact, a microcosm of Tether's strategic core. As the issuer of the world's largest stablecoin USDT, Tether is embedding itself in multiple layers of the Bitcoin ecosystem in a builder's manner, from reserve asset allocation to Mining business, from ecological investment to infrastructure construction, Tether is delving into the nerve center of the new global financial order.
Due to Tether's deep penetration in the Bitcoin system, its actions have also sparked an increasing number of conspiracy theories and heated discussions abroad, questioning whether it artificially raises Bitcoin prices by continuously issuing USDT, creating a "closed-loop bubble" supported by Bitcoin reserves, gold, and the issuance of USDT.
Establishing Bitcoin reserve strategy, identified as the only large buyer
Since May 2023, Tether has announced that it will regularly allocate up to 15% of its realized net operating profits to purchase Bitcoin. Tether expects that its current and future holdings of Bitcoin in reserves will not exceed the shareholder capital buffer and will further strengthen and diversify reserves. As of the first quarter of 2025, Tether holds Bitcoin worth approximately 7.66 billion USD, a significant increase compared to the previous quarter.
The "Gold + Bitcoin" dual reserve mechanism is Tether's hedge against the risks of sovereign fiat currencies, bringing substantial financial returns. Ardoino recently disclosed that Tether currently holds over 100,000 Bitcoins and more than 50 tons of gold. In 2024 alone, Tether's net profit reached 13.7 billion USD, with investments in gold and Bitcoin contributing approximately 5 billion USD in profit. Ardoino has stated that they hold gold not to challenge Bitcoin, but to challenge the centralized fiat currency system.
However, Jacob King, the founder of WhaleWire, pointed out that "Tether is the only large buyer in the entire Bitcoin market, relying on continuous money printing and taking over. It raises the Bitcoin price by issuing new USDT and then sells the excess, purchasing dollars and gold as reserves to prove its legitimacy." He refers to this model as the "ultimate house of cards," suggesting that the entire system could become unbalanced once the stablecoin faces regulation or if Bitcoin demand dries up.
Tether's ambitions for Bitcoin go far beyond just holding coins. In April of this year, Tether, in partnership with SoftBank and Cantor, initiated the establishment of a crypto investment joint venture called Twenty One Capital, aiming to create a global Bitcoin asset acquisition and management platform with a total scale of $3 billion. This platform is seen as Tether's structural layout to benchmark MicroStrategy. In this joint venture deal, Tether holds 42.8% of the joint venture's equity and 51.7% of the voting rights, effectively holding the leading position. Cantor, on the other hand, holds 5% of Tether's shares, and its CEO, Brandon Lutnick, is the son of U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.
"Jack Mallers (CEO of Twenty One Capital) has a close relationship with Tether and Bitfinex, and his other company Strike has long had a close relationship with Tether. They claim to have a large market demand, but most of the Bitcoin in their reserves comes directly from Tether. This is a 'shell operation' in a larger liquidity trick. Jacob King stated on social media that if stablecoins face regulation in the U.S. in the future, Tether will find it difficult to continue injecting liquidity, and the continued massive net outflow of funds from Bitcoin spot ETFs in recent months indicates that institutions are rapidly retreating."
On-chain data shows that Twenty One Capital's Bitcoin reserves come from Tether, which recently injected over 37,000 BTC through five transfers, worth nearly $4 billion.
Tether has invested over $770 million in the video platform Rumble, which has also established its own Bitcoin vault, claiming that Bitcoin has the potential to serve as an inflation hedge.
Building self-operated mining farms and strategic investments simultaneously, aiming to become one of the largest miners in the world.
Tether's ambitions go far beyond asset reserves. As early as 2023, Tether launched a renewable energy-driven Bitcoin mining project in Uruguay, utilizing the local abundant clean energy resources (such as hydropower and wind energy) to create an efficient and sustainable mining base. Shortly thereafter, it participated in El Salvador's volcanic energy program, becoming a capital force driving one of the world's largest geothermal Bitcoin mining sites. Following that, Tether continued to expand its energy map in Latin America, having invested a total of 500 million dollars across Uruguay, Paraguay, and El Salvador to build vertically integrated mining bases.
"The so-called Bitcoin investment by El Salvador is actually a carefully crafted illusion. The Bitcoins in its treasury were directly transferred from Bitfinex and Tether. Tether even personally drafted all of El Salvador's Bitcoin legislation. However, many people have not noticed that El Salvador has quietly abandoned the implementation of Bitcoin as legal tender. Tether and its internal network cannot support all of this, as there is fundamentally no real market demand." Some of Jacob King's statements lack clear evidence, but in February of this year, El Salvador did officially cancel Bitcoin's status as legal tender through the Bitcoin law, and merchants and institutions are no longer forced to accept Bitcoin, nor can it be used for tax payments. Polls show that the vast majority of the public have not benefited, and the economic situation has not improved.
In addition to building its own mining farms, Tether is also actively expanding its global mining footprint through investments and acquisitions. So far, it has invested in companies such as Bitdeer, Northern Data Group, Blockstream, and Swan Mining, covering areas such as chip procurement, server manufacturing, data center construction, and enterprise-level computing power hosting, becoming an important lever supporting Tether's Bitcoin mining layout.
This year, Tether took a further step by announcing the deployment of computing power to the OCEAN mining pool to advance the construction of decentralized Bitcoin mining infrastructure. At the same time, Tether recently announced plans to open-source its Bitcoin mining software, which will allow new miners to enter the market without relying on expensive third-party providers.
According to Ardoino's disclosure at the Bitcoin 2025 conference, Tether has invested over $2 billion in the energy and infrastructure sector, with actual investments in Bitcoin mining being even higher. It is expected that by the end of this year, Tether will become the world's largest Bitcoin miner, a prediction that encompasses all listed companies.
From Bitcoin Chain Issuance to Cultural Penetration: A Full-Stack Layout
Tether is advancing its full-stack strategic layout, continuously expanding the boundaries and influence of the Bitcoin ecosystem.
For example, on the technical front, in addition to chains like Ethereum and TRON, Tether has issued USDT to Bitcoin-related protocols through Omni, Liquid, Lightning, RGB, and supports the popular Bitcoin sidechain network Plasma, which is expected to natively support USDT; in terms of wallet tools, Tether AI has launched a self-custody wallet WDK, which natively supports Bitcoin and USDT, allowing enterprises, applications, websites, and even AI Agents to connect, thereby further lowering the barriers to Bitcoin financial infrastructure; in terms of the payment ecosystem, Tether has donated to the open-source project BTC Pay Server to support the ongoing development and optimization of its open-source crypto payment processor.
At the cultural and educational level, Tether co-hosted the Plan B Summit with the city of Lugano, Switzerland, sponsored local football clubs, and introduced the brand image of Bitcoin into European stadium culture; at the same time, through the Tether Education Program, it has established partnerships with universities around the world to promote the dissemination of Bitcoin knowledge and cultivate the next generation of crypto natives. Twenty One Capital will also focus on the dissemination of Bitcoin-related knowledge in the future, creating educational content and video media, as well as developing a series of financial and consulting services related to Bitcoin.
"For me, the most important thing is that I can contribute to building a more accessible, more resilient, and more useful Bitcoin ecosystem. If I can play a role in infrastructure, technology, and education, that’s enough. The story of Bitcoin has never been about any one person, but about the global community's dedication to an idea - to steadfastly build a future, even in the lows, even when misunderstood. If I can play a role in helping more people join the ecosystem, empowering them with sovereignty and security tools, that will be a mission worth remembering." Ardoino said in a recent interview with Bitcoin News.