The issuer of the market’s most widely used stablecoin, Tether, has formalized the acquisition of an 8.2% equity stake in the firm Antalpha. According to a Schedule 13D document filed this Monday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the operation was carried out through related entities that now control 1.95 million ordinary shares. The news follows Antalpha’s initial public offering (IPO) in May 2025, consolidating the stablecoin giant as one of the largest institutional shareholders of the mining financial services provider.
Antalpha specializes in offering Bitcoin-backed loans and mining equipment financing, operating with a $1.6 billion loan portfolio reported at the end of 2024. The company maintains a close link with the Bitmain ecosystem, the world’s leading manufacturer of cryptocurrency mining hardware. This Tether investment in Antalpha reinforces a clear trend: using profits generated by USDT to capture critical sectors of the digital financial infrastructure, moving away from an exclusive reliance on cash reserves and Treasury bills.
Antalpha profitability supports the strategic diversification of Tether
The financial performance of the lending platform justifies the institutional interest. During the 2025 fiscal year, Antalpha recorded revenue of $79.7 million, representing a 68% year-on-year growth. Meanwhile, the firm’s net income amounted to $18.5 million, tripling the results obtained the previous year. After Tether’s entry became known, the company’s shares experienced a 7.2% increase in early trading this Monday, placing them near $9.97 per unit.
This move is not an isolated event within the roadmap of the organization led by Paolo Ardoino. Recently, the group has shown notable aggressiveness in its capital placements, as observed when Tether announced strategic investment in LayerZero Labs to boost multi-chain scalability. At the close of the first quarter of 2026, Tether maintains a 58.4% dominance of the total capitalization of the stablecoin sector, with USDT valued at approximately $187 billion compared to a global market of $320.7 billion.
The integration with Antalpha offers Tether direct exposure to the Bitcoin mining credit cycle, a sector that demands constant liquidity to renew ASIC fleets. Unlike other financial actors who have retreated in the face of sector volatility, Tether uses its capital surplus to position itself as a lender of last resort and strategic partner. This logic of rescue and infrastructure support was also manifested when Tether provides 127 million dollars to assist key protocols after significant security incidents.
The capital deployment has extended this Monday to Kaio, a real-world asset (RWA) tokenization protocol, where Tether participated in an $8 million funding round. The goal is to create institutional yield layers for USDT holders under regulatory compliance frameworks. These companies that receive backing from the stablecoin issuer form a conglomerate spanning from artificial intelligence to hardware development, totaling more than 120 active investments funded entirely from operating profits and not from the reserves backing the token.
The industry is now watching closely to see if Tether will proceed with its plans to seek fresh capital under a $500 billion valuation, a figure that would triple its current market capitalization. Meanwhile, the firm closely monitors debt maturities and Antalpha’s market conditions to decide whether it will increase or reduce its share position in the coming months. The next relevant milestone will be the presentation of the first quarter 2026 results, which will verify if the growth in mining loan interest income maintains the upward pace of the previous year.
This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute financial advice.
