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In an encouraging development for the crypto space, Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin USDT, has doubled down on its Bitcoin investment momentum by acquiring a staggering 8,888 BTC, further diversifying its portfolio.  Tether Increases Its Bitcoin Holdings Tether has recently made its third largest Bitcoin purchase, as the stablecoin issuer added a total of 8,888 BTC valued at $380 million at the time of purchase. This brings its total BTC holdings to 66,465 BTC, valued at $2.81 billion with an average buy price of $42,353.  Related Reading: Why Did The Bitcoin Price Fall Below $41,000? This transaction was captured by BitInfoCharts data, which also showed the previous amounts of BTC accumulated by the blockchain-enabled platform. This recent purchase follows Tether’s Bitcoin investment strategy, in line with its vision to continuously strengthen its reserves by accumulating Bitcoin. Earlier in May 2023, the stablecoin issuer announced in a blog post that it would regularly allocate 15% of its net realized operating profits toward increasing its BTC reserves. As of the end of March 2023, Tether held approximately $1.5 billion worth of cryptocurrency, a $1.3 billion difference from its total BTC holdings presently.  According to reports from Dune Analytics, Tether has become the 11th largest Bitcoin holder, with Microstrategy, an American business intelligence service, surpassing Tether’s holdings with over 189,00 BTC accumulated. The other addresses in the top 10 rankings are owned by major crypto exchanges and governments, including Binance, Bitfinex and the US government.  Tether’s decision to double down on its Bitcoin investments signals its confidence in the cryptocurrency’s future trajectory. It also underscores the blockchain platform’s belief in the long-term potential of BTC as it aims to capitalize on Bitcoin’s potential growth by bolstering and diversifying its digital asset reserve.   BTC price sitting at $41,354 | Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview.com BTC Accumulation Race Amidst ETF Hype Tether’s strategic Bitcoin purchase comes at a time when the crypto market is buzzing with excitement over Spot Bitcoin ETFs. Before the approval of Spot Bitcoin ETFs, Tether had steadily increased its BTC portfolio, purchasing substantial quantities of BTC consistently. In March 2023, the stablecoin issuer bought 15,915 BTC and another 4,083 BTC between the months of May and September. Related Reading: $245 Million Whale Wakes Up To Threaten XRP Price Recovery The timing of Tether’s BTC purchase suggests a proactive stance towards potentially seizing the opportunities brought forth by the Spot Bitcoin ETF market and the upcoming Bitcoin halving in April. In addition to Tether’s large-scale BTC acquisition, Microstrategy is also another major player which has been continually increasing its BTC holdings. The business intelligence software company added a whopping 14,620 BTC to its portfolio in December 2023. At the time, the value of the purchase was about $615.7 million.  Other companies with large BTC holdings include Galaxy Digital and Elon Musk’s Tesla, as well as space exploration company SpaceX. Featured image from Investopedia, chart from Tradingview.com