Stablecoin group Tether holds talks to invest in gold miners

Tether is using profits from its stablecoin empire to branch out, channeling billions into companies that range from crypto platforms to gold royalty firms and farms.

Tether, the company behind the USDT (USDT) stablecoin, has begun talks to invest in the gold sector. According to a September 5 FT report, the group is exploring opportunities with mining, refining, and royalty companies as it looks to expand beyond its core business. The potential deals would mark a shift from simply holding bullion to taking equity stakes in gold producers.

Tether already stores around $8 billion worth of gold in a secure vault in Zurich. As part of its broader strategy to bridge crypto and real-world assets, the company launched Tether Gold (XAUt) in January 2020, offering tokens backed 1:1 by physical gold.

XAUt has amassed a market cap exceeding $876 million, backed by 7.7 tonnes of bullion supporting over 259,000 tokens in circulation. In August, Tether minted approximately 129,000 new XAUt tokens, adding $437 million worth to the market in a single day and pushing the total market cap past $1.3 billion, helping the tokenized gold swell 20% that day alone.

Chief executive Paolo Ardoino has called gold a natural counterpart to bitcoin and part of Tether’s strategy to link crypto with real world assets. An investment push into mining and royalty groups would deepen that connection and could provide new funding streams to an industry that often faces high financing costs.

For the gold market, the entrance of a major crypto player like Tether could signal fresh demand and add weight to ongoing efforts to digitize ownership of bullion. At the same time, the talks highlight how Tether is using profits from its stablecoin operations to broaden its reach into traditional commodities.

From crypto to commodities: where Tether is putting its money in 2025

Tether isn’t just about gold. Profits from its stablecoin business are being actively deployed across multiple sectors, from self-custody tools to agriculture and royalty firms, with its investments spanning more than 120 companies.

In February, the firm made a stratgeic investment in Zengo Wallet, a self-custody app that uses multiparty computation to secure digital assets. A few months later, in April, Tether closed a major deal in Latin America by purchasing a 70% stake in Adecoagro, an agriculture and energy group, in a transaction valued at $600 million. The company has since said Adecoagro’s renewable energy will also be directed into powering bitcoin mining operations in Brazil.

Tether further acquired 78.4 million shares in Elemental Altus Royalties from La Mancha Investments in June, giving it a 31.9% stake. The deal, worth about $205 million, also came with an option to buy an additional 34.4 million shares. That same month, the firm backed Orionx, a Chile-based crypto exchange, providing capital to help expand its platform.

Most recently, in August, Tether made its way into Europe and Latin America’s digital asset markets by acquiring a minority stake in Bit2Me. It also led a €30 million funding round to support the platform’s expansion in both regions.