The recent debate surrounding Tether’s reserve structure has been reignited by allegations that the company holds significant amounts of gold and Bitcoin, and that a sharp decline in these assets could weaken USDT’s 1:1 collateral balance.
While these comments were spreading especially on social media, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino broke his silence and made a detailed statement.
Citing the Q3 2025 verification report, Ardoino argued that Tether had accumulated not only reserves but also very strong group equity. He noted that the company had approximately $7 billion in excess equity as of the end of the quarter, exceeding its $184.5 billion stablecoin reserves. He also noted that the Tether Group had approximately $23 billion in retained earnings.
Aggregating this data, Ardoino said Tether Group's total assets are approximately $215 billion, while its stablecoin liabilities are $184.5 billion. The biggest mistake some analysts and social media commentators are making, according to the CEO, is failing to account for this additional group equity and the roughly $500 million in underlying profits Tether generates each month from US bonds alone.
Ardoino stated that even the international credit rating agency S&P made a similar mistake, and that some of the claims spreading on social media were not due to a “mathematical error” but rather to “competitive motivations.”
*This is not investment advice.
Yuusuf