Tether Holds $8 Billion Worth of Gold in Swiss Vault, Matching UBS Exposure

Cryptocurrency

Summary:

Tether must still convince regulators that a metal-heavy reserve would not impede USDT’s liquidity under stress.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino revealed that the firm holds roughly $8 billion in gold in a Swiss vault during an interview with Bloomberg News on July 7.

Ardoino called the site “the most secure vault in the world” and said the company owns almost the entire 80-ton stockpile outright, placing the El Salvador-based issuer among the largest private gold holders globally.

According to a March attestation, gold now represents nearly 5% of Tether’s $112 billion reserve portfolio. The stash’s dollar value matches the precious metals book at UBS Group AG, one of the few bullion-dealing banks that break out those holdings.

Tether’s USDT reached a market capitalization of $159 billion last month, following nearly $5 billion in monthly growth.

Ardoino argued that Tether can scale a gold program without proportionally higher fees by self-custodying bullion instead of using commercial vault operators, which charge about 50 basis points.

Regulatory headwinds in key markets

Lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic are moving in the opposite direction. Draft US bills such as the GENIUS Act and Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework allow only cash or near-cash instruments to collateralize fiat-referenced stablecoins, excluding commodities like gold.

If those rules take effect and Tether seeks licenses in those jurisdictions, it would have to liquidate the bullion that backs USDT, although the company could retain metal tied to its gold-backed token, XAUT.

Notably, MiCA granted licenses to 53 crypto firms in the first six months of regulation but excluded Tether.

XAUT circulates against 7.7 tons of gold, worth approximately $819 million, which is well below the 950-ton giant among exchange-traded gold funds but large enough to make redemptions viable at vault doors in Switzerland.

Ardoino said demand could accelerate if investors lose confidence in US fiscal sustainability and seek alternatives that avoid bank-deposit risk while remaining on-chain.

Market context and outlook for bullion-linked tokens

Spot gold has advanced by roughly 25% in 2025 as traders hedge tariff-driven trade friction and wider geopolitical tension.

Ardoino said: “Every single central bank in the BRICS countries is buying gold, so that is why the price went up in our opinion.”

Tether must still convince regulators that a metal-heavy reserve would not impede USDT’s liquidity under stress.

For now, the firm holds the metal, earns yield on Treasurys, and keeps a separate token directly convertible into vaulted bars, combining traditional bullion economics with blockchain settlement.

Source: CryptoSlate

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Adam

Commodity

The pullback in gold prices last month was a boon to bullion sales, with demand for Australian gold and silver products as well as ETP holdings increasing in June, according to the latest sales data from the Perth Mint.

The Perth Mint announced in its June 2025 Sales Update on Monday that it sold minted products containing 32,901 troy ounces of gold and 464,197 oz of silver in June, the final month of its fiscal year.

“Opening the month around USD 3,300, gold rose to a mid-month high of just under USD 3,450, supported by ongoing uncertainty surrounding US-China trade negotiations and its impact on the health of the global economy,” they wrote in the update. “Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East further buoyed the price as investors flocked to safe-haven assets. Gold remained at elevated levels while those geopolitical issues persisted, but as stability returned, the price retreated to just under USD 3,300 to record a modest loss for the month.”

Over the course of the Mint’s full 2024-2025 financial year, gold delivered a gain of 41% in USD terms.

“In Australian dollar terms, the gold price tracked international sentiment but faced headwinds from the US dollar weakening against most currencies,” they noted. “The price dropped by more than 2% in June to end the month trading around AUD 5,020. However, the full financial year performance was robust with gold returning a gain of 43%.”

Silver prices experienced a strong rally in June, rising to a 13-year high of more than $37. “This was supported by perceived value buying as well as strong industrial demand and ongoing supply constraints,” the update stated. “Silver ended the month around USD 36 for a near 9% gain the month. For the financial year, silver returned around 23%.”

The June silver price was also higher in AUD terms, though the stronger AUD/USD exchange rate tempered some of the gains. Silver returned around 25% AUD over the full financial year. Meanwhile, the gold:silver ratio hovered near 91.50 at the end of June, with silver’s outperformance helping to lower the ratio further from the April high.

The Perth Mint shared a table and chart showing how June’s sales numbers stack up against those of May, three months ago, and June of 2024.

Perth Mint sees strong gold and silver sales in FY2025_1

Neil Vance, the Perth Mint’s General Manager Minted Products, said investor appetite for their products remained strong. “Sales of our newly released gold and silver dragon rectangular bullion coins have been very pleasing, as have our silver kangaroos which remain very popular with the German market,” he said.

The newest bullion coins released by the Perth Mint in June were the 2025 Dragon 1oz Gold Bullion Rectangular Coin and the 2025 Dragon 1oz Silver Bullion Rectangular Coin.

The Perth Mint Gold Structured Product – a low-cost exchange traded product (ETP) that allows investors to trade in gold via a stock broking account as they would shares on the ASX – also saw significant inflows in June as prices dipped.

“Total holdings in Perth Mint Gold Structured Product (ASX:PMGOLD) increased during June with holdings up by 4,796 oz (1.55%),” the report noted. “This brings total holdings in PMGOLD to 313,695 ounces (9.76 tonnes).”

Perth Mint sees strong gold and silver sales in FY2025_2

Source: kitco

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Manuel

Commodity

Political

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he will announce a 50% tariff on copper later in the day, aiming to boost U.S. production of a metal critical to electric vehicles, military hardware, the power grid and many consumer goods.

Trump's decision to impose copper tariffs surprised markets - coming earlier and at a higher rate than the industry had expected.

U.S. Comex copper futures jumped more than 12% after the announcement to a record high.

Trump told reporters at a White House cabinet meeting that he planned to make the copper tariff announcement later in the day but he did not say when the tariff would take effect.

"I believe the tariff on copper, we're going to make 50%," Trump said.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in an interview on CNBC on Tuesday that the copper tariffs would likely be put in place by the end of July or August 1.

The Trump administration announced a so-called Section 232 investigation into U.S. imports of the red metal in February. The deadline for the investigation to conclude was November and it was unclear whether the fresh tariffs meant the investigation had concluded.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The National Mining Association declined to comment, saying it preferred to wait until details were released. The American Critical Minerals Association did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Copper is used in construction, transportation, electronics and many other industries. The United States imports roughly half of its copper needs each year.

Major copper projects across the United States have faced strong opposition in recent years due to a variety of reasons, including Rio Tinto (RIO.AX), (RIO.L) and BHP's (BHP.AX) Resolution Copper project in Arizona and Northern Dynasty Minerals's (NDM.TO) Pebble Mine project in Alaska.

Shares of the world's largest copper producer, Phoenix-based Freeport-McMoRan (FCX.N), shot up nearly 5% in Tuesday afternoon trading. The company, which produced 1.26 billion of copper in the United States last year, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Freeport - which would benefit from U.S. copper tariffs but worries that the duties would hurt the global economy - has advised Trump to focus on boosting U.S. copper production.

Countries set to be most affected by any new U.S. copper tariff would be Chile, Canada and Mexico, which were the top suppliers to the United States of refined copper, copper alloys and copper products in 2024, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

Chile, Canada and Peru - three of the largest copper suppliers to the United States - have told the Trump administration that imports from their countries do not threaten U.S. interests and should not face tariffs. All three have free trade deals with the United States.

Mexico's Economy Ministry, Chile's Foreign Ministry and Canada's Finance Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Chile's Mining Ministry and Codelco copper miner declined to comment.

A 50% tariff on copper imports would be a hit to U.S. companies that use the metal because the country is years away from meeting its needs, said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.

"The U.S. has imported a whole year of demand over the past six months, so the local storage levels are ample," Hansen said. "I see a correction in copper prices following the initial jump."

Source: Reuters

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Adam

Stocks

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq struggled for direction on Tuesday, as anxiety over President Donald Trump's latest tariff salvo overshadowed investor hopes that fresh talks with U.S. trading partners might avert a full-blown global trade war.

At 11:49 a.m. the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), fell 58.27 points, or 0.13%, to 44,348.09, the S&P 500 (.SPX), gained 1.04 points, or 0.02%, to 6,231.02 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), gained 5.06 points, or 0.03%, to 20,417.57.

Trump warned on Monday that sweeping new U.S. tariffs would hit countries from Japan and South Korea to smaller trading partners starting Aug. 1—though he hinted at possible reprieves if fresh proposals emerged.

The threat sent all major indexes sharply lower at Monday's close, but they pared some losses earlier in the session on expectations that the economies would possibly work out favorable trade terms through negotiations before Aug. 1.

Japan's top trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, held a 40-minute phone call with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Tuesday, where the two sides agreed to "actively" continue negotiations.

While investors stayed on the sidelines, the Russell 2000 small-cap index (.RUT), managed to eke out gains of nearly 1%.

The energy index (.SPNY), jumped 2.2%, while Utilities (.SPLRCU), often traded as bond-proxies, dropped 1.1%.

In mega-cap stocks, shares of Tesla (TSLA.O), gained 2.5% after the stock recorded its steepest single-day fall in nearly a month on Monday.

"The pick up in volatility is a reminder of the degree of uncertainty surrounding trade policy," said Jordan Rizzuto, chief investment officer of GammaRoad Capital Partners.

Rizzuto also noted that the real risk was not knowing when these tariffs will hit consumers.

The subdued mood stands in sharp contrast to the market turmoil that was unleashed by the "Liberation Day" tariff announcements three months ago, which pushed the Nasdaq into bear territory and dragged the Dow and the S&P 500 into correction.

Since then, Wall Street has rebounded, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 powering to record highs last week, buoyed by a resilient labor market that has helped ease fears of a looming recession.

BofA Global Research and Goldman Sachs raised their year-end targets for the S&P 500 index (.SPX), broadly driven by reduced policy uncertainty, resilient corporate earnings and potential interest rate cuts.

Minutes of the Fed's June rate-setting meeting are scheduled for release on Wednesday, which will offer investors more clarity on when the central bank might resume its policy easing cycle.

Shares of solar stocks fell after Trump on Monday directed federal agencies to strengthen provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that repeal or modify tax credits for solar and wind energy projects.

SunRun (RUN.O), dropped 12%, Enphase Energy (ENPH.O), lost 3.2% and SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG.O), declined 3.8%.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.71-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, and by a 1.81-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 17 new 52-week highs and three new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 67 new highs and 30 new lows.

Source: Reuters

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Adam

Economic

Central Bank

Fears earlier this year that President Donald Trump’s tariffs would result in a sharp inflation spike have completely receded, according to a New York Federal Reserve survey released Tuesday.

The central bank’s monthly Survey of Consumer Expectations shows that respondents in June saw inflation at 3% 12 months from now. That’s the same level it was in January — before Trump took office and began saber-rattling over trade.

The level marked a 0.2 percentage point decline from May and a retreat from the 3.6% peak hit in March and April.

Since April, Trump has gone from slapping across-the-board 10% tariffs plus a menu of so-called reciprocal duties against U.S. trading partner to a more conciliatory approach involving ongoing negotiations.

Thus far, tariffs have yet to show up in most inflation readings. The consumer price index rose just 0.1% in May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, though the annual inflation rate of 2.4% remains above the Fed’s 2% goal.

Inflation expectations at the three- and five-year horizons were unchanged at 3% and 2.6% respectively, according to the survey.

While the headline inflation outlook eased, respondents still expect higher prices in several key individual categories. The survey pointed to expectations for a 4.2% increase in gas prices, 9.3% for medical care — the highest since June 2023 — and 9.1% for both college education and rent. The outlook for food price increases was unchanged at 5.5%.

Employment metrics also showed some improvement, with a 1.1 percentage decrease in the expectation for a higher unemployment rate a year from now. Also, the average expectation for losing one’s job fell to 14%, a 0.8 percentage point drop and the lowest reading since December.

Source: cnbc

To stay updated on all economic events of today, please check out our Economic calendar

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Jason

Stocks

Economic

The S&P 500 struggled for direction Tuesday as investors assessed the economic impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest salvo in his aggressive tariff agenda.

At 11:57am ET (16:57 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 126 points, or 0.3%, while the S&P 500 index was flat, {{14958|NASDAQ added 0.2%.

Trump says no extensions on new tariff deadline

Trump told reporters that his administration won’t grant extensions to reciprocal tariffs that were delayed to Aug. 1 from a prior deadline of July 9, keeping the economic threat of a trade war alive should negotiations prove unsuccessful before the new deadline.

Trump on Monday released letters outlining trade tariffs against a slew of Asian and African countries. He imposed a 25% levy on South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, and Kazakhstan, a 30% levy on South Africa, a 32% levy on Indonesia, a 35% levy on Bangladesh, and a 36% levy on Thailand.

Notably, the higher tariffs will not combine with previously announced sector tariffs such as those on automobiles, steel, and aluminum. Crucially, letters were not sent to India and the European Union, which analysts and media reports interpreted as an indication that possible trade deals may be imminent.

Trump’s flurry of tariff announcements represent "decidedly mixed news" for financial markets, according to analysts at Wolfe Research, in a note to clients.

The new tariff rates, when combined with a preliminary trade deal reached with Vietnam last week, would add $54 billion in annual government revenues, but the tariff deadline extension essentially pushes out a 90-day pause that was previously instituted after Trump announced his punishing "reciprocal" levies in April -- and does not remove the threat of elevated tariffs snapping back into place in the weeks ahead.

Yet investors remain largely reassured by the belief that Trump will be flexible in ongoing trade negotiations and is not keen to see markets roil as they did in the wake of his "Liberation Day" event, the strategists said.

"At a very basic level, nothing actually happened based on Trump sending these letters, so there’s no reason to panic over headlines. But we think these moves do contain some signal about where the trade war is heading, and that signal is mostly hawkish."

Amazon to kick off Prime Day

In corporate news, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) kicks off its Prime Day, with estimates predicting a spike in digital shopping during the longer-than-usual four-day sales event.

Executives have said the extension was due to Prime members saying they needed more time to shop for deals.

During Amazon’s previous Prime Day in July 2024, American consumers spent $14.2 billion, or a rise of 11% year-over-year, according to figures from Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) Analytics cited by Reuters.

Hershey Co (NYSE:HSY) fell on reports that the firm had tapped Wendy’s Kirk Tanner to be its new chief executive starting Aug. 18. Tanner is set to take over the role from Michele Buck, who has been with the company for more than 20 years.

SoFi Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:SOFI) jumped to a fresh record high after the company announced its expansion into alternative investment, offering users access to private companies across sectors including AI, machine learning, and space technology.

The economic data slate is largely empty Tuesday, and the focus this week is on the minutes of Federal Reserve’s June meeting, which are due on Wednesday.

The Fed has maintained its stance on keeping rates steady until the inflationary effects of Trump’s tariffs become more clear.

Source: Investing

To stay updated on all economic events of today, please check out our Economic calendar

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Adam

Commodity

Gold dropped as investors parsed President Donald Trump’s decision to delay the start of increased duties on several trading partners, while insisting the new deadline is final.

The precious metal fell as much as 1.5%, with investors awaiting more details on the president’s approach to negotiations, after this week’s move to postpone the imposition of all the April 2 duties until Aug. 1, effectively buying each affected nation an extra three weeks to cut a deal.

“TARIFFS WILL START BEING PAID ON AUGUST 1, 2025. There has been no change to this date, and there will be no change,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday.

Treasury yields and a gauge of the greenback rose on Tuesday, putting pressure on non-interest bearing gold. A stronger dollar is also a headwind, making the precious metal more expensive for buyers in other currencies.

“Its really the FX and bond markets which are putting pressure on commodities, including precious metals,” said Nicky Shiels, head of metals strategy at MKS Pamp SA.

Gold has rallied significantly this year, setting a record in April, as Trump’s efforts to overhaul trade policies stoked uncertainty, boosting demand for havens. The advance has been supported by central-bank accumulation, with China announcing a fresh rise in official holdings earlier this week.

“Central banks are likely to continue to add gold to their reserves given the still-uncertain economic environment and the drive to diversify away from the US dollar,” ING Groep NV strategist Ewa Manthey said.

Spot gold fell 1.2% to $3,297.77 an ounce at 17:11 p.m. in London. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%, after gaining 0.5% on Monday. Palladium, silver and platinum all declined.