Tether reserve wallet sends 4 BTC to Binance as Q2 buying stalls

Tether transferred 4 BTC worth about $250,000 from a wallet to Binance, which may point to an end to Tether’s BTC acquisitions, EmberCN said in a report on Saturday.

Tether 用每季度利润的 15% 买 BTC 的那个储备地址，5 小时前测试性往 Binance 充值了 4 枚 BTC ($25 万)。https://t.co/bsvlUfw4Gt

这是要？他们在一个月前向 Bitfinex 转移过 204.3 枚 BTC ($1436 万)，当时 BTC 价格在 $7 万。

卖没卖不太确定，但他们现在好像没在继续买 BTC… https://t.co/sTAJ3NElxG pic.twitter.com/uZ5WiaheHh

— 余烬 (@EmberCN) July 11, 2026

The on-chain analytics firm, which observes large wallets on X, described the transaction as a “test” deposit. EmberCN noted that the recent transactions indicate that Tether “now doesn’t seem to be continuing to buy BTC.” However, the analyst stopped short of indicating that any coins were sold, claiming that the information does not specify whether a sale indeed occurred.

The particular wallet is the one belonging to Tether where there is a transfer of 15% of their quarterly net realized operational profits. In a post dated June 2, EmberCN reported that the wallet had 96,936 BTC worth nearly $6.72 billion, placing it at the fifth position on Bitcoin wallets globally. Bitcoin Magazine mentioned that, in April, the amount was marginally higher at almost 97,141 BTC across reserve wallets presumed to belong to Tether.

A break from a two-year buying pattern

Since May 2023, Tether has been implementing a policy according to which up to 15% of the net profits earned in the course of its business will be allocated for Bitcoin purchases.

The company disclosed this plan on May 17, 2023. At that time, its Chief Technology Officer, Paolo Ardoino, called Bitcoin the “long-term store of value.” Tether announced that the company will not use any custodial services but rather exercise self-custody over its Bitcoin, in accordance with the saying “Not your keys, not your Bitcoin.”

This policy guarantees a regular, well-organized rhythm in Tether’s operation. Tether creates its positions in Bitfinex in the course of the quarter and moves it to its base wallet immediately after the close of that quarter.

The transfer has been reported by EmberCN, which monitored the transaction that took place on April 15, when one address received nearly 951 BTC for a total sum of $70.5 million; the transfer was reported also by Bitcoin Magazine. Earlier, Tether transferred roughly around 8,888 BTC valued at around $778 million during the last quarter of the year 2025; this was confirmed by Ardoino himself.

The second quarter of 2026 concluded on June 30. However, no corresponding withdrawal from Bitfinex has occurred as of July 11. Rather, the reserve address has been sending out coins. In early June, when Bitcoin reached a price near $70,000, the wallet transferred 204.3 BTC (Around $14.36 million) to Bitfinex as per EmberCN.

The lack of activity is striking because Tether usually made quarterly transfers of between approximately 951 BTC and 8,888 BTC. This means that the transfer amounts can be worth tens or perhaps even hundreds of millions of dollars, depending on the price of Bitcoin at that particular moment.

The amounts of money shifted in the transfer may seem small when compared with Bitcoin’s total trading volume for a day, but these transfers are monitored very closely in regard to institutional interest in Tether and its treasury strategy.

Why the flow matters

Tether is one of the largest corporate holders of Bitcoin in the world, and its buying activities on a quarterly basis create continuous structural demand from moving the coins away from trading marketplaces into treasury allocations. Unlike speculative traders, treasury purchases are meant for balance sheet allocations, which means that there would be actually very little motive to put these coins back into circulation in the foreseeable future.

While Tether’s quarterly purchases appear small compared to Bitcoin’s daily trading value amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars, they have continually provided a healthy amount of demand from non-speculating traders.

The consistency of this information had made it a hot point of interest for on-chain analysts as reserve wallet transactions tend to coincide with Tether’s quarterly cycle of earnings instead of reacting to short-term price movements in crypto markets.

The Bitcoin reserve is just part of Tether’s entire balance sheet. Tether has publicly confirmed several times that the main source of funding for USDT are invested in U.S. Treasury securities and other highly liquid instruments. Bitcoin remains in the company’s financial portfolio as a minor alternative asset designed mostly to support diversification of reserves rather than serve as primary collateral.

Currently, the proof consists of a 4 BTC test transaction and a lack of the usual post-quarter accumulation, not necessarily indicating Tether has offloaded Bitcoins or has ended its regular allocation strategy. Whether this unexpected halt is the result of postponed purchasing, minimal profits or the modification in treasury management still remains to be seen in the forthcoming reserve wallet activity and the next quarterly audit report to be released by Tether.

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