Tether (USDT) Owns More US Treasury Bills Than Mexico, Spain, Australia: Ardoino

Tether is one of the leading global purchasers of US Treasury bills. According to Paolo Ardoino, the stablecoin issuer’s chief technology officer, USDT has now amassed a substantial $72.5 billion in US Treasury bonds.

This places Tether in the 22nd position worldwide, surpassing countries like the United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Australia, and Spain in terms of Treasury holdings.

Tether’s Treasury Holdings Expand While China Continues to Liquidate

Since the beginning of the year, Tether’s circulation has increased from 66 billion to the current 82.8 billion, representing a growth of more than 25% so far. The surge comes despite the contraction in the stablecoin market following intense turmoil.

As such, the changing global economic landscape coupled with the transformation of the crypto market, Tether’s substantial investment in US Treasury bills, and its dominance within the stablecoin space underscore the growing significance of crypto in global finance.

Ardoino highlighted,

“USDt is the most used stablecoin in the world, with a huge focus on emerging markets. For many of these communities, USDt is a lifeline to protect themselves and their families from the insane inflation of their national currencies.”

Meanwhile, according to Circle’s monthly certification for July, the firm holds an impressive sum of more than $8.4 billion in US Treasuries.

As Tether strengthens its portfolio, China is rapidly reducing its holdings of US Treasury bills and shifting its investments towards gold. Ivan Bayoukhi, founder of Wall Street Silver, revealed that China has slashed its ownership of US Treasury debt to nearly $481 billion from peak levels, and the rate of selling has accelerated significantly and instead doubled down its efforts on buying gold.

Tether Reserves

In a recently released transparency report, the stablecoin giant revealed $3.3 billion in excess reserves, indicating that its tokens are over 100% backed.

Tether owns $86.1 billion in assets, while its liabilities account for $82.8 billion, which exist in the form of dollar-pegged USDT tokens issued across several blockchains. Nearly 42.5 billion USDT circulates on the Tron blockchain, making it the highest amount, followed by approximately 38.4 billion trades on Ethereum and nearly 800 million USDT on Solana.

USDT’s presence on 11 other blockchain networks makes up the remaining portion, however, the stablecoin issuer had axed the support for three of these networks – Omni, SLP, and Kusama – in May, citing limited adoption.