Bitfinex-backed Plasma announced a strategic partnership with EtherFi on Aug. 29, positioning the stablecoin-focused neobank as a day-one launch partner for the blockchain’s mainnet beta.

EtherFi will transfer over $500 million from its Ethereum (ETH) staking vault to Plasma’s platform, providing liquidity for stablecoin-backed yield strategies.

The collaboration integrates EtherFi across Plasma’s DeFi ecosystem, providing users with additional collateral options for lending and borrowing while offering access to ETH-backed yield products.

Plasma’s announcement emphasized how the partnership complements both platforms’ objectives in the stablecoin infrastructure space. The protocol stated:

“Stablecoins give everyone, everywhere permissionless access to the financial service of saving money safely and reliably.”

EtherFi is the sixth-largest DeFi protocol, with a total value locked of over $11 billion as of Aug. 29. The protocol reached an all-time high of nearly $12.6 billion on Aug. 14.

Stablecoin-focused infrastructure

Plasma operates as a Bitcoin sidechain with full Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility, engineered specifically for stablecoin payments and cross-border transactions.

The platform offers zero-fee USDT transfers through a dual-validator architecture that processes gasless transactions.

Recent market activity demonstrates significant institutional interest in Plasma’s approach. The platform raised $1 billion in deposits within 30 minutes during its June expansion, with 70% of funds concentrated among the top 100 wallets according to analytics firm Sealaunch.

Initial deposits in June totaled $500 million, with over 1,100 participating wallets.

Further, Plasma is backed by high-profile names. The protocol $24 million funding round attracted backing from Framework Ventures, Bitfinex, Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, and Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino.

DeFi ecosystem integration

The EtherFi partnership extends beyond simple vault migration. Plasma users will be able to leverage EtherFi’s liquid staking tokens as collateral while accessing stablecoin features, including custom gas tokens and confidential transactions.

Additionally, the partnership positions both platforms to capture the growing demand for stablecoin infrastructure as the sector surpasses a total supply of $280 billion.

Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes recently noted that EtherFi is one of three DeFi protocols that could capture significant value from the expansion of US dollar-pegged stablecoins.

EtherFi’s commitment to move $500 million in ETH staking assets represents confidence in Plasma’s technical architecture and market positioning within the expanding stablecoin ecosystem.

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Sujha Sundararajan

Author

Sujha Sundararajan

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Sujha has been recognised as Women In Crypto 2024 by BeInCrypto for her leadership in crypto journalism.

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July 8, 2025

Stablecoin issuer Tether has built a gold vault empire worth around $8 billion, stored in a private vault in Switzerland, CEO Paolo Ardoino told Bloomberg in an interview.

The USDT issuer directly owns the vast majority of about 80 tons of gold stockpile outright. However, precious metals represent only 5% of Tether’s $112 billion reserve portfolio, per the company’s March attestation.

“We have our own vault. I believe it’s the most secure vault in the world,” Ardoino noted, declining to reveal the whereabouts of the Swiss vault due to security concerns.

USDT stablecoin reached a market cap of $159 billion last month, claiming 62.43% of the entire $255 billion stablecoin ecosystem.

The company’s gold reserves match the UBS Group’s total precious metals and commodities exposure, the report added.

Tether Gold Reserves Signals Pivot From Pure Fiat Exposure

In Ardoino’s books, gold’s safe-haven status helps buffer against fiat or regulatory turbulence. He said that the precious metal is a safer asset than any national currency.

“Eventually, I think that if people start to get concerned about the potential increase of the debt of the US, they might look at alternatives,” he told Bloomberg.

Further, the recent surge in gold prices is fueled by central bank buying and a return of investor interest in gold ETFs, according to a report from J.P. Morgan.

“Every single central bank in the BRICS countries is buying gold,” Ardoino added.

Gold Reserves Could Lower Custody Costs

Tether has been widely known for its association with gold, launching a gold-based token, Tether Gold, that recently showed stable gains.

According to Ardoino, the company’s decision to own its own gold vault is due to the high costs that precious metal vault operators charge.

If Tether’s gold token were to grow to $100 billion in circulation, “it’s a lot of money to pay 50 basis points,” said Ardoino.

“If you have your own vault, eventually with the size, it gets much cheaper to do custody.”

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino revealed that the firm holds roughly $8 billion in gold in a Swiss vault during an interview with Bloomberg News on July 7.

Ardoino called the site “the most secure vault in the world” and said the company owns almost the entire 80-ton stockpile outright, placing the El Salvador-based issuer among the largest private gold holders globally.

According to a March attestation, gold now represents nearly 5% of Tether’s $112 billion reserve portfolio. The stash’s dollar value matches the precious metals book at UBS Group AG, one of the few bullion-dealing banks that break out those holdings.

Tether’s USDT reached a market capitalization of $159 billion last month, following nearly $5 billion in monthly growth.

Ardoino argued that Tether can scale a gold program without proportionally higher fees by self-custodying bullion instead of using commercial vault operators, which charge about 50 basis points.

Regulatory headwinds in key markets

Lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic are moving in the opposite direction. Draft US bills such as the GENIUS Act and Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework allow only cash or near-cash instruments to collateralize fiat-referenced stablecoins, excluding commodities like gold.

If those rules take effect and Tether seeks licenses in those jurisdictions, it would have to liquidate the bullion that backs USDT, although the company could retain metal tied to its gold-backed token, XAUT.

Notably, MiCA granted licenses to 53 crypto firms in the first six months of regulation but excluded Tether.

XAUT circulates against 7.7 tons of gold, worth approximately $819 million, which is well below the 950-ton giant among exchange-traded gold funds but large enough to make redemptions viable at vault doors in Switzerland.

Ardoino said demand could accelerate if investors lose confidence in US fiscal sustainability and seek alternatives that avoid bank-deposit risk while remaining on-chain.

Market context and outlook for bullion-linked tokens

Spot gold has advanced by roughly 25% in 2025 as traders hedge tariff-driven trade friction and wider geopolitical tension.

Ardoino said:

“Every single central bank in the BRICS countries is buying gold, so that is why the price went up in our opinion.”

Tether must still convince regulators that a metal-heavy reserve would not impede USDT’s liquidity under stress.

For now, the firm holds the metal, earns yield on Treasurys, and keeps a separate token directly convertible into vaulted bars, combining traditional bullion economics with blockchain settlement.

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Switzerland’s government has given the green light to a plan that will force crypto firms to hand over data on their customers’ digital assets. The measure, adopted on June 6, 2025, aims to start sharing information with 74 partner countries. It is set to take effect on January 1, 2026, but the first actual exchange of data won’t happen until 2027.

Plan Timeline And Details

According to the Swiss Federal Council, the bill was put forward to update existing rules on international data sharing. Starting January 1, 2026, crypto-service providers in Switzerland must record who holds which crypto assets and report that data to Swiss tax authorities.

Then, in 2027, those authorities will send the information to partner states that meet the required standards. Parliament is debating the bill now, and approval will lock in the January 2026 start date.

The Federal Council has adopted a bill to enable the automatic exchange of cryptoasset information with 74 partners, including , all members, and most of G20 (not , , ). Now Parliament is debating the bill.

Press release: https://t.co/33vCVtJimI @efd_dff @sif_sfi

— Swiss Federal Government (@SwissGov) June 6, 2025

List Of Partner Jurisdictions

Based on reports, Switzerland plans to share crypto data with 74 jurisdictions. That group covers all 27 member states of the European Union plus the United Kingdom. It also includes most G20 countries.

However, the United States, Saudi Arabia and China are not on the list because they haven’t agreed to the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) rules. Data will only flow to countries that both request it and meet OECD criteria under CARF.

Rules And Oversight Process

Under the current proposal, Swiss authorities must double-check every partner state before sending any data. This review is similar to the one in place for bank-account data. If a country falls short of the CARF rules, sharing will be suspended until it corrects any issues.

The bill would amend Swiss law to ensure that the same checks apply to crypto assets as they do to traditional finance accounts.

Impact On Local Crypto Firms

Crypto-service providers in Switzerland will see changes starting 2026. By then, they will have to compile customer names, addresses, tax ID numbers and crypto balances. That data goes to Switzerland, which then passes it along to other states in 2027.

Under the EU’s eighth update to the Directive on Administrative Cooperation (DAC 8), Swiss firms will also have to report directly to EU member states until Switzerland signs all the new EU data-protection agreements under the European Convention on Human Rights.

These new steps aim to bring crypto assets in line with how banks report accounts. The Swiss Federal Council says this will help meet international tax transparency commitments and protect the reputation of Switzerland’s financial sector.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

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