Tether’s $100 Million Gold Gamble: Doubling Down on Precious Metals Amid Crypto Boom

Tether just placed a massive bet on the oldest store of value—while everyone's distracted by digital shiny objects.

The Golden Pivot

They're sinking another nine figures into gold-backed assets, pushing deeper into commodities as crypto markets heat up. Because nothing says 'stable' like anchoring digital tokens to a metal humans have obsessed over for millennia.

Market Timing or Market Hype?

The move drops during a speculative frenzy—proving even crypto giants still fall back on traditional safe havens. Somewhere, a Wall Street banker is nodding with grim satisfaction.

Watch the dominoes fall across both crypto and commodity markets as this plays out.

Tether’s gold embrace

Tether’s reported interest in gold mining builds on its earlier moves into the sector.

The company spent nearly $90 million in June to secure a controlling stake in Canadian royalty firm Elemental Altus Royalties Corp. The deal involved purchasing 78.4 million common shares from La Mancha Investments, giving Tether 31.9% ownership and the option to raise its stake to 50%.

On Sept. 4, the stablecoin issuer agreed to expand its stake in the gold-focused firm by acquiring an additional $100 million worth of the company shares.

Beyond equity deals, Tether already issues Tether Gold (XAUT), a leading gold-backed digital token. The firm disclosed in July that XAUT is backed by more than 7.66 tons of gold stored in Switzerland.

Notably, Tether has also reported that its gold holdings represent over 5% of the reserves for its USDT stablecoins.

Tether’s expansion into gold signals a strategy of linking tangible assets with blockchain finance at a time when both safe-haven demand and stablecoin adoption are rising

USDT dominance continues

While expanding into gold, Tether’s core business remains unmatched in the crypto industry.

Data from Token Terminal shows that USDT transfer volumes reached a record $1.32 trillion in August, facilitated by 14 million unique addresses.

With a circulating supply exceeding $170 billion, USDT represents 59.2% of the $288 billion stablecoin market.

That scale makes it the sector’s most important token, cementing its role as the backbone of global crypto liquidity.