Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, has expanded its Bitcoin holdings with a $735 million purchase made in the first quarter of 2025.

This latest investment has positioned the company as the sixth-largest Bitcoin holder globally.

Details From the Purchase

According to data from Spot On Chain, Tether acquired 8,888 BTC, bringing its total reserves to 92,647 BTC, valued at approximately $7.64 billion at current market prices. The stablecoin issuer’s unrealized profit on its holdings is estimated at $3.86 billion.

Notably, the company remained committed to its accumulation strategy despite Bitcoin experiencing a 12% decline in Q1 2025, the flagship cryptocurrency’s worst quarterly performance in seven years.

In May 2023, Tether announced plans to allocate 15% of its net realized operating profits each quarter to BTC buys for its reserves, with the asset acquired gradually throughout the period and settled at the end. This approach is designed to strengthen and diversify its holdings while reinforcing its commitment to holding BTC as a treasury asset.

Beyond the buys, the company has also been diversifying its investments into emerging sectors such as AI, Bitcoin mining, and decentralized communications.

Competition In The Stablecoin Market Intensifies

The latest development comes as competition in the stablecoin landscape increases, with Ripple launching RLUSD and Circle expanding its global presence, particularly in Europe, following Tether’s reduced role due to MiCA regulations.

Meanwhile, Circle, the issuer of USDC, is preparing to file for an IPO in late April 2025, with JPMorgan and Citi leading the offering. Reports indicate that if approved, its stock could debut on Wall Street as early as May, with an estimated valuation between $4 and $5 billion.

At the same time, Tether is considering expanding its presence in the United States. In a January interview with Bloomberg, CEO Paolo Ardoino pointed to improving market conditions and a favorable regulatory outlook under President Donald Trump as key reasons for this potential move.

This statement followed the USDT issuer’s decision to relocate its operations to El Salvador, a pro-Bitcoin nation that granted the company a digital asset service provider license (DASP) on January 13.

Financially, the company posted strong results in 2024, reporting a record $2.5 billion profit in Q3. This performance brought its total earnings for the first nine months of that year to $7.7 billion. USDT’s market cap also reached 120 billion over the same period, marking a 30% growth in 2024.