Tether Provides Approximately $1.5 Billion in Financing to U.S. Gold Dealer
nashnova research
Stablecoin giant Tether has extended roughly $1.5 billion in gold-lease financing to U.S. precious-metals dealer Gold.com at just 1.75% annually — far below bank lending rates — signaling a crypto firm's push to displace traditional banks in the physical-gold financing market.
How does this deal actually work?
Tether lends its physical gold bars to Gold.com, which pays interest for the use — this is gold leasing (lending gold instead of cash, similar in principle to a bank loan but denominated in metal, not dollars).
As of late June, Gold.com's outstanding precious-metals leases totaled roughly $1.7 billion, the vast majority sourced from Tether; Tether's effective financing contribution was about $1.5 billion.
This means → Tether has moved beyond simply hoarding gold — it has turned its bullion into a lending machine.
Why would Gold.com borrow Tether's gold?
The core reason: cost. Tether's gold-lease rate is just 1.75% a year; Gold.com's bank credit lines charge roughly 6%.
In plain terms = for every $100 million borrowed, the bank route costs $6 million in interest while the Tether route costs $1.75 million — a 70% saving on financing costs.
Gold.com CEO Greg Roberts said on an earnings call that this is a cheaper source of liquidity, and the two sides have found a mutually beneficial model.
What's in it for Tether?
Tether holds roughly 146 tonnes of gold, worth about $20 billion at current prices. Physical gold generates no cash flow and carries insurance and storage costs — sitting idle, it is a net expense.
Gold leasing gives Tether a path to turn a dormant asset into income: lend the bars out, collect the interest.
This reflects a strategic shift from "accumulation" to "monetization" — earning from gold, not just owning it.
How deep does this relationship go?
Earlier this year Tether spent $150 million to acquire roughly 13% of Gold.com, upgrading a lending relationship into an equity stake.
The two then signed multiple follow-on agreements: cross-buying and selling precious metals, and Tether storing part of its bullion at Gold.com's Las Vegas facility.
Gold.com's portfolio includes A-Mark Precious Metals and JM Bullion — major U.S. bullion brands with significant reach in physical-gold trading and distribution.
Can Tether actually take business from the banks?
Gold leasing has historically been dominated by large multinational banks; refiners and dealers borrow gold to reduce dollar-funding dependence. This year's record gold prices and sharp volatility pushed up bank credit exposure to refiners, putting traditional gold financing under pressure in Q1.
Tether has approached several Swiss gold refiners to discuss financing — this means → its ambition extends beyond Gold.com to a broader slice of the market.
However, gold leasing and direct dollar borrowing are not economically identical; leasing gold may force a company to forgo potential gains from derivatives hedging. Whether Tether can truly replace the banks remains the key test of its gold strategy.
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