Stablecoin issuer Tether moved almost $780 million worth of Bitcoin into its corporate Bitcoin reserve in its largest move since March.
Arkham Intelligence shows wallets tagged for Tether’s Bitcoin (BTC) reserve as having received separate transfers of around 7,628.9 BTC and 775.6 BTC on Dec. 30, totaling just under 8,404.5 BTC.
The latest BTC additions are worth a total of $777.4 million with Bitcoin hovering around $92,500. It brings Tether’s total holdings to 83,759 BTC, worth just under $7.75 billion.
Tether, which issues the stablecoin of the same name, Tether (USDT), said in May 2023 that it planned to “regularly allocate up to 15% of its net realized operating profits toward purchasing Bitcoin.”
Two of the latest BTC transfers going into Tether’s Bitcoin reserve. Source: Arkham Intelligence
It’s the company’s first significant move since March 31, when it added about 8,888 BTC just weeks after the cryptocurrency broke past $70,000 for the first time and soared past a long-held all-time high.
Bitcoin doubled in price during 2024 and is currently up 108% on the year, though it has been trading down this week, and is down from its mid-December all-time high of around $108,000
Tether has the second-largest Bitcoin holdings among privately owned businesses, surpassed only by the 140,000 BTC holdings of blockchain software firm Block.one, according to Bitbo data.
Tether’s holdings put it in third place overall for both private and public companies, which software firm MicroStrategy leads with its 446,400 BTC holdings.
Related: Bitwise files for ETF tracking firms with big Bitcoin treasuries
Corporate Bitcoin treasuries have seen a bump in popularity with Bitcoin’s price rise over the year, with a handful of firms announcing they’re putting the cryptocurrency on their books in hopes of boosting their share prices.
One of the latest Bitcoin adopters, KULR Technology Group, said on Dec. 16 that it spent $21 million buying 217.18 Bitcoin, which saw its stock price close up more than 40% that day to an all-time high of $4.80.
Additionally, biopharmaceutical company Quantum BioPharma on Dec. 20 said it bought $1 million worth of BTC and other crypto assets to diversify its treasury.
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