Aiming to Become the World’s Largest Bitcoin Miner This Year

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino revealed that the company is on track to become “probably the biggest miner in the world” by the end of 2025.

Ardoino acknowledged that, in most cases, direct BTC investment yields higher profits than mining, but emphasized Tether’s strategic choice to participate in mining to protect its treasury and support Bitcoin’s network security.

Bitcoin Mining Supremacy

In a recent interview with Bankless, Ardoino explained that the stablecoin issuer already holds significant Bitcoin reserves and therefore has an incentive to contribute to the network’s decentralization through mining operations across South America, the United States, and other regions.

Ardoino highlighted the importance of maintaining a mining presence in the US during what he described as a “monumental time” for the industry.

On profitability, the exec noted that while block rewards will eventually drop to zero, on-chain fees are expected to rise significantly, which will turn the Bitcoin main chain into a settlement layer for Lightning channels and major contracts. He suggested that these contracts would underpin an “enormous amount” of transactions.

In line with Tether’s broader efforts to promote decentralization, it announced plans to open-source its Bitcoin Mining OS (MOS) last month to help new miners enter the market without costly vendor reliance. Ardoino had then described MOS as scalable, modular, and built on peer-to-peer IoT architecture, which is designed to support existing mining infrastructure like containers and power devices.

The rollout is expected by the fourth quarter of 2025. The exec said this move would help more companies to compete in securing the Bitcoin network.

Earlier, the company partnered with Ocean mining pool to decentralize block building by committing its current and future hash rate to the protocol.

Tether’s Gold Reserves

Alongside its aggressive mining ambitions, Tether has been quietly expanding its reserve strategy beyond Bitcoin.

In fact, Ardoino recently revealed that the firm holds approximately $8 billion in gold, which is around 80 tonnes, in a Swiss vault he described as “the most secure vault in the world.” The exec added that Tether owns nearly the entire stockpile, which makes it one of the largest private gold holders globally. Gold now comprises almost 5% of Tether’s $112 billion reserves, on par with UBS’s precious‑metals holdings.