Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin by market capitalization, continues its buying spree with its 32% stake acquisition in Canada’s public gold royalty firm Elemental Altus Royalties.
Tether Investments on Thursday announced the acquisition of 78,421,780 common shares of Elemental (ELE) from La Mancha Investments, representing 31.9% of Elemental’s issued and outstanding shares.
The transaction, completed Tuesday, was made at a price of $1.55 Canadian dollars ($1.14) per share, according to an announcement by Elemental, costing Tether approximately $89.4 million.
The investment marks a milestone in Tether’s strategy to “integrate long-term, stable assets such as gold and Bitcoin” in its ecosystem, both as a hedge and as part of its commitment to building a resilient digital economy infrastructure, the stablecoin issuer said.
Exposure to gold without mining risks
By acquiring ELE shares, Tether targets diversified exposure to global gold production through a royalty and streaming model, which avoids direct operational risks of gold mining.
“This model aligns with Tether’s preference for strategic, low-risk exposure to real-world assets that can enhance the transparency and stability of digital financial products,” Tether said.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino highlighted the company’s growing investments in gold and Bitcoin, which reflect its “forward-looking strategy to build a more resilient and transparent financial system.” He said:
“Just as Bitcoin provides the ultimate decentralized hedge against monetary inflation, gold continues to be a time-tested store of value.”
“This is not just about investment — it’s about building financial infrastructure for the next century,” Ardoino said.
Implications for Tether Gold
Apart from hedging against inflation, Tether’s exposure to a diversified gold royalties portfolio through Elemental allows the stablecoin issuer to strengthen the backing of its ecosystem and advance its gold-backed stablecoin Tether Gold, or XAUt (XAUT).
The announcement also hints at more commodity-backed digital assets planned by Tether in the future using its new exposure.
Since launching in 2020, Tether’s XAUt stablecoin has emerged as the largest gold-backed cryptocurrency on the market, reaching a $854 million market cap in April, according to CoinGecko data.
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XAUt’s rise came amid the meteoric rise of gold in the past year, with spot gold prices surging about 30% year-to-date and peaking at $3,500 in April. Gold prices have seen a slight slump since, dropping to $3,388 at time of writing, according to TradingView.
Tether’s active buying spree
Tether’s stake acquisition of Elemental Altus Royalties is yet another investment by the stablecoin issuer after the company posted a record-breaking profit of $13 billion last year and officially moved beyond stablecoins in April 2024.
In May, Tether bought $458.7 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) for Twenty One Capital, a Bitcoin investment firm it backed that is awaiting the completion of a Special Purpose Acquisition Company merger with Cantor Equity Partners.
Tether subsequently moved another $3.9 billion in BTC to Twenty One Capital in early June, making it the third-largest corporate BTC holder after Strategy and MARA.
Tether previously took a 30% stake in Italian media company Be Water in March, invested in the Juventus football club and backed self-custodial crypto wallet Zengo in February.
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