Tether Acquires 8,888 BTC, Holdings Top 96,000

Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, acquired 8,888 Bitcoin on December 31, 2025, boosting its total holdings to more than 96,000 BTC as of January 1, 2026. The purchase, valued at approximately 779 million at the time, positions Tether's Bitcoin address as the fifth-largest globally, behind major exchanges and trading platforms, according to on-chain analytics.

CEO Paolo Ardoino announced the acquisition on social media, stating that Tether had accumulated 8,888.8888888 BTC during the fourth quarter of 2025. On-chain data from monitoring firms indicates the company made additional purchases throughout the quarter, including a withdrawal of 961 BTC from the Bitfinex exchange on November 7, 2025, bringing the total Q4 acquisitions to around 9,850 BTC worth roughly 876 million. At current market prices near 87,500 per Bitcoin, Tether's reserves are valued at about 8.4 billion, generating an unrealized profit of over 3.5 billion based on an average acquisition cost of 51,117 per coin.

The move aligns with Tether's reserve strategy established in May 2023, under which the company allocates up to 15 percent of its quarterly operating profits to Bitcoin purchases. This approach...