Tether holds over 82,000 in Bitcoin and 48 tonnes of gold for USDT reserve.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has disclosed that the company holds more than 82,000 Bitcoin and 48 tonnes of gold in its reserves.
According to him, the company also has over $100 billion in US Treasuries backing the USDT stablecoin. Thus, all its USDT is fully backed.
The revelation has attracted positive comments from the crypto community, with some noting the diversification of Tether reserves.
Some observed that Tether having gold to back USDT is very good, which means USDT is gold-backed. In their opinion, this makes it even better than the actual US dollar, which stopped the gold backing in the 1970s.
Meanwhile, other users are more curious about the full state of Tether reserves, particularly how it custodies the gold and whether they are audited.
One trader questioned whether the gold in Tether reserves is actual gold bullion or derivatives such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and options.
The public disclosure of how Tether backs its USDT stablecoin appears connected to the recent claims by the Wall Street Journal that the company is under investigation by the US Department of Justice.
Although Tether immediately moved to dismiss the news, which it termed as mere speculation, it was enough to cause a reaction in the market.
The CEO, noted that Tether collaborates with law enforcement globally, including in the US, to tackle crimes. Therefore, the company would have information about an investigation against it.
This is not the first time the stability of USDT has been questioned, and each time, it has raised broader concerns in the market.
USDT occupies an important position in the crypto market, with a market cap of $120 billion, and it is used for most crypto transactions.
Per data from CoinMarketCap, USDT had a trading volume of $32 billion in the last 24 hours, more than any other crypto asset, highlighting its importance within the crypto ecosystem.
Bitcoin mining difficulty is still on the rise.
According to Coinwarz data, the current BTC mining difficulty stands at 95.67 trillion at block 867,462, marking an almost 4% jump in just a week and a 17% spike in three months.
Moreover, the BTC network is close to its subsequent difficulty adjustment, which is estimated in just nine days when the difficulty is expected to rise to 98.8 trillion.
However, even with Bitcoin mining’s escalating difficulty, BTC miners are still generating millions of dollars from mining activity.
As of October 25, Bitcoin miners earned over $34 million, though this represents a slight fall from October 20’s $38.38 million.
Currently, the leading crypto is trading at $67, 240 continuing an impressive six-week price rally, with a 0.89% jump in the last 24 hours.