According to insider sources, Tether, the stablecoin issuer, has emerged as the 11th largest holder of Bitcoin globally, with a current holding value of approximately $1.6 billion. While Tether has not officially disclosed its Bitcoin address, research analyst Tom Wain of 21. co claims to have identified a potential Tether address holding around 55,022 Bitcoins, equivalent to $1.6 billion. A direct source familiar with the matter confirmed Tether's position as the 11th largest Bitcoin holder, a ranking also maintained on 21. co's Dune Analytics. Tether declined to comment.

The reported holdings align with the Bitcoin total mentioned in Tether's Q2 reserve report released earlier this week. The company first disclosed its Bitcoin holdings in Q1 of this year, stating that it would regularly invest 15% of its profits into Bitcoin to shift its reserves towards cryptocurrencies and away from US government debt. While Bitcoin has been one of the best-performing assets over the past decade, analysts caution against excessive exposure to the cryptocurrency due to its high volatility. Tether's Bitcoin holdings make up 50% of its liquid reserves.