#Trump Tariff Hikes#

The company Tether, the issuer of the stablecoin USDT, holds about 80 tons of gold worth $8 billion in its own vault in Switzerland. According to the company's CEO Paolo Ardoino, this is "the safest vault in the world," however, its exact location and date of establishment are not disclosed.
Almost the entire volume belongs directly to Tether, making it one of the largest private holders of gold in the world, journalists note. The company explains this strategy by the rising price of gold due to interest from the central banks of the BRICS countries, as well as the desire to reduce costs, particularly to avoid fees charged by third-party custodians.
80 tons is more than the gold reserves of countries like Australia, the Czech Republic, or Argentina, according to the World Gold Council as of March 31, 2025. At the same time, the largest "gold" exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust, holds nearly 950 tons of metal to back its shares.
In addition to the dollar-pegged stablecoin, Tether issues a gold-pegged stablecoin XAUT. Each token is backed by one ounce of gold, which can be physically redeemed in Switzerland.
According to Tether's reserve report for the first quarter of this year, precious metals accounted for 4.46% of $6.66 billion out of $149.27 billion. The largest portion of the company's reserves was in U.S. Treasury bonds — $98.5 billion.
At the end of April, Tether reported that the collateral for XAUT, which has a market capitalization of $811 million, has grown to 7.7 tons of gold. The market value of the nearest and practically only major competitor — the PAX Gold token (PAXG) from Paxos — is $923 million.