Tether generated approximately $1.5 billion in net operating profit during the second quarter of 2026 as returns from US Treasury holdings and repo operations supported its earnings.
Summary
- Tether recorded about $1.5 billion in quarterly operating profit, according to its BDO attestation.
- USDT supply reached approximately $184.6 billion, representing over 60% of the stablecoin market.
- The company reported $187.7 billion in assets and about $4.1 billion in excess reserves.
- Tether reduced secured loans by $2.4 billion while adding 14 tons to its gold holdings.
Tether reports $4.1B in excess reserves
Tether’s total assets stood at approximately $187.7 billion at the end of June, while its reported liabilities totaled $183.6 billion. The difference left the stablecoin issuer with roughly $4.1 billion in excess reserves.
The figures appeared in Tether’s latest reserve attestation, prepared by accounting firm BDO and released Friday. US government-backed securities continued to account for the largest portion of the company’s reserve portfolio.
Interest earned from that portfolio, along with returns from repo operations, provided the main source of Tether’s second-quarter profit. The company’s exposure to short-term US debt has made its earnings sensitive to Federal Reserve policy and changes in Treasury yields.
Tether also reported that the circulating supply of USDT reached approximately $184.6 billion by the end of June. Based on the company’s figures, the token controlled more than 60% of the global stablecoin market.
Gold holdings rise as secured lending declines
Tether adjusted the composition of its reserves during the quarter by reducing secured lending and increasing its holdings of physical gold.
Outstanding secured loans fell by about $2.4 billion. Tether did not provide a full breakdown of the borrowers or collateral involved in the lending reduction in the information accompanying the results.
Meanwhile, the company purchased another 14 tons of physical gold, bringing its total holdings to more than 146 tons. The increase continued Tether’s move beyond cash-equivalent reserves and into assets such as gold and Bitcoin.
Tether said its portfolio remained resilient despite sharp price swings affecting both assets during the quarter. Its Bitcoin holdings were valued at approximately $5.8 billion at the end of June.
Those positions may provide additional returns when prices rise, but they also expose part of Tether’s balance sheet to greater market volatility than short-dated US government debt.
US Treasury holdings keep Tether tied to US markets
Tether’s reserve structure gives the company a substantial connection to US financial markets even though USDT operates globally.
The company’s earnings remain heavily influenced by income from US Treasury securities and related repo transactions. Any change in US interest rates could therefore affect future profitability, even if the number of USDT tokens in circulation continues to grow.
Tether is also expanding a separate US-focused stablecoin, USAT. The token recently launched on Celo, its second supported mainnet following Ethereum.
USAT users can mint and redeem the token natively on Celo without relying on third-party bridges. Celo’s CIP-64 upgrade also allows approved ERC-20 tokens to pay network transaction fees, meaning users can use USAT for gas instead of holding a separate token.
The deployment extends Tether’s US-oriented product to a blockchain commonly used for digital-dollar payments. It also separates USAT’s expansion from the company’s larger offshore USDT business.
Tether expands infrastructure beyond stablecoins
Tether said it added more than 30 million users globally during the second quarter while continuing preparations for a full audit by a Big Four accounting firm. It did not provide a completion date for that process.
The company is also exploring tokenized capital-market infrastructure in Africa. Tether and the Nairobi Securities Exchange signed a memorandum of understanding on July 28 covering tokenized securities, blockchain-based market systems and digital asset education in Kenya.
The parties will assess whether USDT could support settlement infrastructure where Kenyan regulations allow. However, the memorandum does not authorize a tokenized security, launch a trading venue or commit the exchange to using USDT.
No pilot date, budget, or binding implementation schedule was disclosed. Future developments will depend on regulatory approval, technical assessments, and whether the exploratory agreement advances into a formal project.
