As gold pushes to new all-time highs above $5,300 an ounce and the U.S. dollar slides to four-year lows, one of crypto’s largest companies has been steadily accumulating the metal.

Tether now holds around 140 tons of gold, worth roughly $23–24 billion, chief executive Paolo Ardoino told Bloomberg. The bullion is stored in a fortified facility in Switzerland, and Ardoino says the company continues to buy one to two tons per week, funded by profits from its stablecoin business.

This story is an excerpt from the Unchained Daily newsletter.

Tether’s approach increasingly resembles that of a central bank. Ardoino has said he expects the company to become one of the world’s largest gold holders outside of governments, and believes geopolitical rivals to the U.S. will eventually pursue gold-backed alternatives to the dollar.

This is not a passive reserve strategy. Tether plans to actively trade its gold, moving into territory traditionally dominated by large banks. The company has already hired experienced gold traders as it looks to generate additional returns while remaining heavily exposed to physical metal.

In a market where the dollar is weakening and investors are seeking assets with no counterparty risk, Tether’s growing gold position highlights how capital inside crypto is increasingly converging with traditional safe havens.

In related news, on Tuesday Tether launched USAT, a new U.S.-regulated stablecoin issued by federally chartered crypto bank Anchorage Digital, creating a GENIUS Act–compliant alternative to USDT for institutions that require full cash-and-Treasury backing under U.S. oversight.