Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, stores gold in a Cold War-era nuclear bunker in Switzerland. The company is stockpiling more than a ton of the precious metal each week in the Swiss mountains to back its gold-pegged XAUT Token—an attention-grabbing security measure once employed by a Bitcoin firm from crypto’s early days. Tether currently owns an estimated $24 billion in gold, the most of any holder outside of governments, central banks, and major ETFs. A Fortune magazine feature reveals the gold hoarding reflects a belief on the part of Tether’s CEO that Western economies are unraveling and that his firm can be an anchor of stability in an unstable world.
The company’s use of Swiss vaults to hold its approximately 140 tons of gold—which backs its gold token but also forms part of its own treasury—coincides with a record precious metals rally. This isn’t the first time the crypto world has flocked to Switzerland; Xapo stored Bitcoin in a bunker beneath a Swiss mountain. Xapo was founded by Argentine Wences Casares, who rubbed elbows with the original Bitcoin crowd in 2013, and he sold the custody portion of the business to Coinbase in 2019.
During this rally, gold has climbed 83% in the last year, even as Bitcoin—the so-called “digital gold”—posted a 20% decline. The precious metal has even beaten the original cryptocurrency over the long term, as gold is up 174% in the last five years, while Bitcoin is up 142% since then. Investors are betting against the dollar, which is supposed to be a recipe for success for those in the crypto world. Instead, traders are pouring money into gold and leaving Bitcoin behind.
Younger investors have touted cryptocurrency as the future of finance and a pathway to get richer, quicker. To their disgust, buyers of gold, typically associated with older generations, are cashing in winnings. Last year was a letdown for crypto enthusiasts, and 2026 isn’t looking much better. Bitcoin is down nearly 35% since October to its current price of about $83,000 according to Binance.
Other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Solana are also down 30% and 37%, respectively, in the last three months. One analyst argues that Bitcoin could sink even more, given the turbulent macroeconomic environment. “I do not think that low 70s is out of the question in Bitcoin – not today specifically, going to depend a lot on what happens with Iran and general overall sentiment,” said Russell Thompson, CIO of Hilbert Group.
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