Tether Boosts Bitcoin Reserves to $7,68 Billion with New Addition

• Tether expands Bitcoin reserves to 82.983 BTC.
• USDT supply drops $1,1 billion in a week.
• MiCA regulations drive changes in the stablecoin market.

Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, made a strategic move by adding 7.629 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $705 million, to its corporate reserves. The transaction was recorded on December 30 and monitored from Arkham Intelligence platform. With this, Tether now holds a total of 82.983 BTC, equivalent to $7,68 billion, considering Bitcoin's current value of $92.300.

The money printer is slowing down! Over the past 10 days, Tether's USDT circulating supply has shrunk by more than $1.3 billion. pic.twitter.com/hLLGqtNUqh

— Ali (@ali_charts) December 28, 2024

This is Tether’s third significant move this year to increase its Bitcoin reserves. In May 2023, the company announced that it would use up to 15% of its operating profits to acquire Bitcoin, seeking to diversify its reserves and explore new revenue streams. In addition, the company has also been expanding its Bitcoin mining operations, strengthening its position in the crypto market.

Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino previously outlined the company’s view on Bitcoin: “Bitcoin has demonstrated its resilience as a long-term asset with significant growth potential.” He also pointed to features such as the cryptocurrency’s limited supply and decentralized system as factors that attract institutional investors.

While Tether is expanding its Bitcoin reserves, the circulating supply of USDT has seen a reduction of over $1,1 billion over the past week. This decrease may be linked to the company’s hesitation to adhere to Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations, which require compliance to maintain stablecoin listings on European exchanges.

In Europe, the stablecoin market is undergoing significant changes, driven by regulatory clarity from MiCA. Meanwhile, other financial institutions, such as SG-Forge, are taking advantage of the space left by the discontinuation of Tether’s EURt, a euro-backed stablecoin, to launch their own solutions.

The reduction in USDT supply also impacted liquidity for Bitcoin transactions, contributing to the drop in trading volume and indicating bearish sentiment in the market.