Tether Acquires 8,888 BTC, Increasing Holdings to 100,521 BTC
Tether, the issuer of the largest stablecoin, USDT, continues to expand its Bitcoin reserves. In the first quarter of 2025, the company purchased 8,888 BTC worth approximately $735 million, bringing its total balance to 100,521 BTC. At the current exchange rate, this amounts to around $8.29 billion.
This strategy aligns with Tether’s policy of diversifying reserves and increasing Bitcoin’s share among its backed assets. Back in 2023, Tether announced plans to allocate a portion of its profits to BTC purchases on a quarterly basis, and the latest data confirms this commitment.
Meanwhile, the average daily Bitcoin sales volume on major crypto exchanges has decreased from 81,000 to 29,000 BTC, which could indicate a reduction in market supply and a long-term interest in Bitcoin from institutional investors.
Trump Family Gains Control Over World Liberty Financial
A major event took place in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector as former U.S. President Donald Trump’s family strengthened its control over the World Liberty Financial (WLF) platform.
The company, positioning itself as a “crypto bank”, raised $590 million through token sales. In January, it was revealed that its original founders, Zachary Folkman and Chase Herro, stepped down from management. Control has now been transferred to WLF Holdco, 60% of whose shares are owned by DT Marks DEFI, an entity linked to the Trump family.
After the final payouts to the co-founders, the Trump family will receive 75% of net profits and 60% of platform operations revenue. According to Reuters, WLF will retain only 5% of the raised funds.
WLF presents itself as a platform for lending, investing, and borrowing digital assets. The Trump family’s increased influence in the project may indicate growing interest from traditional financial institutions in DeFi.
Hedera Launches a New Corporate EVM Blockchain, HashSphere
Hedera Hashgraph developers have introduced a new corporate blockchain, HashSphere, compatible with Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). The beta version was launched on March 31, with a full release scheduled for Q3 2025.
HashSphere is designed for use in regulated industries and is aimed at financial institutions, asset management firms, banks, and payment service providers. Its key advantages include enhanced security, privacy, low fees, and support for cross-border stablecoin transactions.
According to Rob Allen, Head of Web3 Strategy at Australian Payments Plus, HashSphere will comply with regulatory requirements, making it one of the most promising corporate blockchains for the traditional financial sector.
It is worth noting that back in April 2024, the HBAR Foundation, the developer behind Hedera, participated in the tokenization of BlackRock’s U.S. Treasury Money Market Fund. This was a significant step in integrating blockchain into traditional financial systems.
The beginning of 2025 highlights key trends in the crypto market:
– Tether continues to acquire Bitcoin, reinforcing its strategy of holding digital assets.
– The Trump family strengthens its control over DeFi, which could attract new institutional investors to the sector.
– Hedera launches the corporate blockchain HashSphere, tailored for regulated industries.
These developments confirm that the crypto industry continues to evolve and gradually integrates into the traditional economy, while major players keep expanding their positions in digital finance.
