A cryptocurrency researcher claimed that Tether has detected a BTC address that holds $1.6 billion worth of Bitcoin.
Tom Wan, a researcher at 21.co, a crypto analytics platform, tweeted on Friday explaining his findings about Tether's Bitcoin holdings.
He said he used Tether's quarterly reports to estimate the BTC balance the company holds.
According to Wan, Tether's BTC balance has increased by $176 million compared to the last quarter, which means they hold approximately 55,022 BTC as of June 30, 2023.
Using the BTC price, which was about $30,300 at the time, he calculated that Tether's Bitcoin holdings are worth about $1.67 billion.
Tether is the 11th Largest Bitcoin Owner in the World, According to Data
Wan stated that he found only one Bitcoin address that matched Tether's balance, increasing each quarter. He identified the address as bc1qjasf9z3h7w3jspkhtgatgpyvvzgpa2wwd2lr0eh5tx44reyn2k7sfc27a4, which is now the 11th largest BTC holder in the world.
Wan also said that Tether confirmed that it is the 11th largest holder of BTC with a source with direct knowledge of the matter, but declined to comment on Tether's report.
Tether first announced its Bitcoin holdings in the first quarter of this year when it said it would regularly invest up to 15% of its profits in Bitcoin as it shifted its reserves away from crypto and US government bonds.
According to Tether's statement, BTC assets are part of the 'Shareholder Capital Buffer', a liquidity buffer above the current market value of all the company's tokens.
*Not investment advice.