Tether, the gold whale

Remember about a month ago, when gold hit an all-time high, lots of commentators got on their hobby horses to huff about currency debasement? Then another set of commentators called nonsense on that idea, saying gold demand was probably just dollar avoidance plus momentum? Maybe everyone was overthinking it. Maybe gold went up because Tether has been buying. It's not news that Tether likes gold. The world’s largest stablecoin issuer has spent more than $300mn this year buying stakes in precious metals producers, CEO Paolo Ardoino having talked about “natural bitcoin” as a way to diversify reserves. Tether also issues the XAUt token, launched in 2020, which is advertised as being backed by bullion held in a Swiss vault. But is Tether a big enough gold buyer to move the market on its own? According to analysis from Jefferies, probably: Based on the 116 tonnes of gold indicated in its end-September reserves attestation, Tether is “the largest holder of gold outside central banks”, Jefferi

Remember about a month ago, when gold hit an all-time high, lots of commentators got on their hobby horses to huff about currency debasement? Then another set of commentators called nonsense on that idea, saying gold demand was probably just dollar avoidance plus momentum? Maybe everyone was overthinking it. Maybe gold went up because Tether has been buying. It's not news that Tether likes gold. The world’s largest stablecoin issuer has spent more than $300mn this year buying stakes in precious metals producers, CEO Paolo Ardoino having talked about “natural bitcoin” as a way to diversify rese