Stablecoin Giant Withdraws Nearly $400M In BTC From Bitfinex, Becomes 10th Largest Bitcoin Holder

Stablecoin giant Tether (USDT) has made a significant move by withdrawing 8,888.88 BTC, worth approximately $379 million, from the Bitfinex exchange, cementing its position as the 10th largest Bitcoin holder.

Tether's strategic move Monday resulted in a staggering profit of $1.148 billion, recording a 68% profit margin.

With the latest development, Tether now holds 66,465.2 BTC, valued at approximately $2.82 billion. The average cost price is $25,176 per BTC.

Tether first revealed its Bitcoin holdings of $1.5 billion in Q1 2023 after announcing it will regularly invest up to 15% of its profit in the world's largest crypto asset by market capitalization.

"Starting this month, Tether will regularly allocate up to 15% of its net realized operating profits towards purchasing Bitcoin (BTC). Tether anticipates that the current and future BTC holdings in its reserves will not exceed the Shareholder Capital Cushion and will further strengthen and diversify the reserves, " Tether said in a blog post in May.

"Tether's purchase of BTC is part of its conservative and prudent approach to investment decisions aimed at strengthening, increasing and diversifying its reserves. By implementing this framework, Tether aims to enhance transparency and provide a clearer view of the company's performance and capital allocation strategy," it added.

"The decision to invest in Bitcoin, the world's first and largest cryptocurrency, is underpinned by its strength and potential as an investment asset," Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino said at the time. "Bitcoin has continually proven its resilience and has emerged as a long-term store of value with substantial growth potential. Its limited supply, decentralized nature, and widespread adoption have positioned Bitcoin as a favored choice among institutional and retail investors alike."

"Our investment in Bitcoin is not only a way to enhance the performance of our portfolio, but it is also a method of aligning ourselves with a transformative technology that has the potential to reshape the way we conduct business and live our lives," the executive added.

Tether was deemed the 11th largest Bitcoin holder in the world in August. Tom Wan, a research analyst at 21.co, claimed at the time that he discovered an address probably belonging to the stablecoin issuer that holds about 55,022 bitcoins, worth around $1.6 billion.

It was reported in November that Tether was planning to spend around $500 million over the next six months to become one of the world's top Bitcoin miners, by constructing its own mining facilities and by taking stakes in other businesses.

"We are committed to being part of the Bitcoin mining ecosystem," Ardoino said. "When it comes to the expansions, building new substations and new sites, we are taking them extremely seriously."