Bitfinex and Tether's Secret Strategy: Stablecoin Leader Becomes One of the Top Ten Bitcoin Holders in the World
According to a report by The Block, leading stablecoin issuer Tether's sister company, the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, also holds Bitcoin, as the company has been retaining a portion of its trading fee revenue in Bitcoin.
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Gratitude Must Be Repaid: Making Money from Bitcoin Requires Investing in Bitcoin
Paolo Ardoino, Chief Technology Officer of Bitfinex and Tether, stated on Twitter on Sunday:
Cryptocurrency exchanges that have "profited immensely" from Bitcoin should adopt policies to reinvest some of the profits back into Bitcoin.
Ardoino mentioned that this is what Bitfinex has been doing by supporting Bitcoin's second layer network Lightning Network and Liquid Network, as well as developing the RGB protocol, which allows for cheaper and more private transactions, making it easier for developers to issue tokens on the Bitcoin network.
Commenting on this tweet, Ardoino told The Block:
It's not just about buying Bitcoin!
It seems to confirm the report that Bitfinex also holds Bitcoin.
Cryptocurrency exchanges, that hugely benefitted from #Bitcoin , should have a policy to reinvest part of the profits into #Bitcoin .
That's what we do at @bitfinex
LN, RGB, Liquid, …— Paolo Ardoino 🍐 (@paoloardoino) September 3, 2023
Tether Is the 11th Largest Bitcoin Holder Worldwide
Previous reports indicated that Tether spent around $45.4 million in the second quarter to purchase 1,529 Bitcoins. The total value of Bitcoins held by Tether has reached $1.676 billion.
The Block reported in early August that Tether is the 11th largest Bitcoin holder globally. However, based on a closer examination of the data, this refers to the quantity of Bitcoin held in a single wallet. Nevertheless, Tether has repeatedly stated that purchasing Bitcoin is part of its conservative and prudent investment strategy aimed at strengthening, increasing, and diversifying its reserves. Therefore, Tether is expected to continue purchasing and increasing its holdings of Bitcoin, striving to move closer to the top position like MicroStrategy.