Tether, the parent company behind the USDT stablecoin, is making a push into the gold sector across the supply chain.
The El Salvador-based group has held discussions with multiple mining and investment firms over opportunities spanning gold mining, refining, trading and royalties, according to a report from the Financial Times on Friday.
Currently, the group owns $8.7 billion of bullion, stored in Switzerland and used partly as collateral for the USDT token, alongside large holdings of US Treasuries.
USDT is the world's largest stablecoin. Stablecoins are synthetic assets, purportedly backed by real-world assets, with Tether acting as digital representative of the US dollar.
Recently, Tether invested a further $100 million into Toronto-listed Elemental Altus Royalties Corp (TSX-V:ELE), building on a $105 million stake taken earlier this year.
The strategy was described by Tether executive Juan Sartori as an effort to increase the company’s "gold exposure", while chief executive Paolo Ardoino has long been an advocate of the metal, calling it "natural bitcoin".
Tether has also been investing in football clubs, amassing a 10% stake in Italian club Juventus earlier this year.
The FT story revealed that some mining industry executives questioned whether Tether had an actual strategy for investing in the gold sector and its ability to integrate into an industry known for its conservatism.
Other listed companies are also seeking to bridge the gap between digital currencies and gold, on both sides of the Atlantic.
Nasdaq-listed Blue Gold has said it plans to issue tokens backed by future production from its Ghanaian operations, while some small cap miners in London have launched bitcoin treasury strategies.
Examples include Hamak Gold Limited (LSE:HAMA), which bought 20 bitcoin and entered a strategic partnership with Archax, the FCA-regulated digital asset exchange and custodian; ECR Minerals PLC (AIM:ECR), the London-listed gold explorer with projects in Australia, adopted a Bitcoin and digital asset treasury management policy as it prepares for a potential transition into revenue-generating production; Panther Metals PLC (LSE:PALM) shared plans to finance a mining asset through bitcoin treasury; and Bluebird Mining Ventures (LSE:BMV) broadened its strategy to include both gold and Bitcoin.