Tether, issuer of the USDT stablecoin, acquired 8,888 Bitcoin in the first quarter of 2025, according to onchain data.

Onchain transaction data shows that Tether moved its newly acquired Bitcoin (BTC), worth roughly $750 million at the time of writing, from a Bitfinex address to a wallet it controls. Data provided by onchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence shows that the firm currently holds 100,521 BTC, worth about $8.46 billion.

Tether’s Bitcoin balance chart. Source: Arkham Intelligence

The news follows mid-February reports that Tether could be forced to sell part of its Bitcoin holdings to comply with proposed US regulations. JP Morgan wrote in a report that potential stablecoin regulation could consider a significant portion of the firm’s current reserve as non-compliant:

“Under the proposed bills, Tether would have to implicitly replace its non-compliant assets with compliant assets. […] This would imply sales of their non-compliant assets (such as precious metals, Bitcoin, corporate paper, secured loans.”

Still, Tether argued against the conclusion of the JP Morgan analyst. A Tether spokesperson criticized the analysts in correspondence sent to Cointelegraph, saying “they understand neither Bitcoin nor Tether” and highlighting that the US stablecoin laws have yet to be finalized.

Related: Binance ends Tether USDT trading in Europe to comply with MiCA rules

Tether becomes an investment powerhouse

Tether reported $13 billion of profit in 2024, leading to a significant capital reserve that the firm funneled into large-scale investment ventures. As a result of this explosive growth, the stablecoin issuer became the world’s seventh-largest buyer of US Treasurys, surpassing financially significant countries such as Canada, Taiwan, Mexico, Norway and Hong Kong.

At the end of March, Tether invested 10 million euros ($10.8 million) in Italian media company Be Water. In February, the firm acquired a majority stake in Juventus FC, a major Series A football club based in Turin, Italy, and also sought to acquire a majority stake in South American agribusiness Adecoagro.

The firm’s influence is already growing as a result of those investments. Rumble, a video platform in which Tether invested $775 million in late 2024, recently announced the launch of its wallet for content creator payments with support for Tether’s USDt.

Related: ‘Stablecoin multiverse’ begins: Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino

USDt keeps growing

Tether’s USDt is the world’s leading stablecoin and the third digital asset by market cap, according to CoinMarketCap data. At the time of writing, USDt’s total supply stands at just under 148 billion.

Ignoring the minor deviations from the US dollar’s value, that supply would place the current market cap at almost $148 billion. Whale Alert data shows that on March 31, Tether minted a billion dollars worth of USDt on the Tron blockchain.

USDt minting, burning and Bitcoin price. Source: Whale Alert

Bitcoin’s price has historically tended upward following upticks in USDt minting and large-scale USDt minting has usually followed significant Bitcoin price increases. David Pakman, managing partner at crypto-native investment firm CoinFund, recently said that the global stablecoin supply could surge to $1 trillion by the end of 2025, potentially becoming a key catalyst for broader cryptocurrency market growth.

Magazine: Chinese Tether laundromat, Bhutan enjoys recent Bitcoin boost: Asia Express

Japan-based Metaplanet has expanded its Bitcoin holdings, purchasing 696 BTC for 10.152 billion yen ($67 million), the company announced in an April 1 post on X.

The investment pushes Metaplanet’s total Bitcoin stash to 4,046 BTC, valued at over $341 million at the time of writing.

Source: Metaplanet

Stock split targets investor accessibility

The acquisition comes shortly after Metaplanet issued 2 billion Japanese yen ($13.3 million) of bonds to buy more BTC, Cointelegraph reported on March 31.

Source: Simon Gerovich

The move also comes shortly after Metaplanet’s 10-to-1 reverse stock split. The company had previously warned in a Feb. 18 filing that its share price had risen significantly, creating a high barrier to entry for retail investors.

“We implemented a reverse stock split consolidating 10 shares into 1. Since then, our stock price has risen significantly, and the minimum amount required to purchase our shares on the market has now exceeded 500,000 yen, creating a substantial financial burden for investors,” according to a Feb. 18 notice.

Stock split announcement. Source: Metaplanet

The stock split aims to lower the price per trading unit to improve liquidity and expand the firm’s investor base.

Metaplanet stock split history. Source: Investing.com

The 10-to-1 stock split was completed on March 28, according to investing.com.

Related: $1T stablecoin supply could drive next crypto rally — CoinFund’s Pakman

Metaplanet, often referred to as “Asia’s MicroStrategy,” aims to accumulate 21,000 BTC by 2026 as part of its strategy to lead Bitcoin adoption in Japan. With 4,046 BTC in its treasury, it currently ranks as the ninth-largest corporate Bitcoin holder globally, according to Bitbo data.

Related: Crypto trader turns $2K PEPE into $43M, sells for $10M profit

Strategy is also buying the Bitcoin dip

Metaplanet’s purchase comes during a period of institutional dip buying, with Michael Saylor’s Strategy announcing its latest acquisition on March 31. Strategy purchased 22,048 Bitcoin for $1.92 billion at an average price of $86,969 per Bitcoin in its latest weekly BTC haul.

The company now holds over 528,000 Bitcoin acquired for $35.63 billion at an average price of $67,458 per BTC, Saylor said in a March 31 X post.

Source: Michael Saylor

Institutions are showing confidence in Bitcoin despite the global market uncertainty around US President Donald Trump’s looming tariff announcement, which may create significant volatility in both crypto and traditional markets.

“Risk appetite remains muted amid tariff threats from President Trump and ongoing macro uncertainty,” Nexo dispatch analyst Iliya Kalchev told Cointelegraph.

The April 2 announcement is expected to detail reciprocal trade tariffs targeting top US trading partners, a development that may increase inflation-related concerns and limit demand for risk assets like Bitcoin.

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The use of hydrocarbon fuels in mining Bitcoin has seen a sharp decline over the past 13 years, with the use of coal energy in mining dropping significantly.

The share of coal energy use in Bitcoin (BTC) mining has dropped from 63% in 2011 to 20% in 2024, an average annual decrease of roughly 8%, according to a new report released on March 31 by the MiCA Crypto Alliance in collaboration with the risk metrics data platform Nodiens.

In parallel, the share of renewable energy used in Bitcoin mining has steadily increased, growing at an average rate of 5.8% per year.

Bitcoin absolute energy consumption trends and share of renewable and coal energy. Source: MiCA Crypto Alliance

The data reflects a steady shift of Bitcoin mining to cleaner and more sustainable energy solutions, with the study forecasting further decarbonization and mitigation of BTC’s environmental footprint in the coming years.

Global coal energy use surged to new highs in 2024

The transition comes amid rising global coal consumption, adding contrast to Bitcoin’s changing energy profile.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), a Paris-based intergovernmental policy organization, global coal use surged to a new record in 2024, estimated at 8.8 billion tonnes.

Global coal consumption from 2000 to 2026. Source: IEA

According to the IEA, global demand for coal energy is set to stay close to record levels through 2027 as emerging economies like India, Indonesia and Vietnam are expected to see a sharp rise in coal consumption in the coming years.

Five scenarios for Bitcoin’s energy path to 2030

The report lays out five future scenarios for Bitcoin’s carbon footprint, ranging from a bearish $10,000 BTC price to an ultra-bullish $1 million scenario.

The study specifically included five BTC price scenarios, with $10,000 considered as a low price scenario, a base price scenario at $110,000, a medium price scenario at $250,000, a high price scenario at $500,000 and a “very bullish” price scenario at $1 million per BTC.

Peak annual carbon footprint estimations for different Bitcoin price scenarios and IEA’s different energy transition scenarios. Source: MiCA Crypto Alliance

In a medium price scenario, renewable energy is estimated to constitute between 59.3% and 74.3% of Bitcoin’s total electricity usage, depending on the policy scenario, excluding nuclear energy use, the report stated.

Related: Crusoe to sell Bitcoin mining business to NYDIG to focus on AI

The report also mentions an expected peak in Bitcoin mining energy consumption around 2030, echoing a similar forecast in a study by the digital asset platform NYDIG released in September 2021.

According to NYDIG’s estimations, even in a high-price scenario, Bitcoin’s electricity consumption would peak at 11 times its 2020 level, but it will only account for 0.4% of global primary energy consumption and 2% of global electricity generation.

Magazine: Bitcoin ATH sooner than expected? XRP may drop 40%, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 23 – 29