Tether Made $1.5B This Quarter — But Its Safety Reserve Buffer Just Got Cut in Half

Tether published its official Q2 2026 report, attested by BDO Advisory Services: net operating profit came in around $1.5 billion — up nearly 50% from Q1. Founder and CEO Paolo Ardoino confirmed the results.

“Without a doubt, Tether continues to deliver financial inclusion in the developing world like no other company or organization ever has in the history of humanity; we're all incredibly proud of this achievement.”

— Paolo Ardoino, CEO, Tether

• USDT in circulation grew by about $446 million to $184.6 billion
• Gold reserves grew by 14 tons over the quarter, to more than 146 tons
• Bitcoin reserves grew by roughly 1,796 coins to 98,933 BTC (about $5.8 billion at current prices, down from $6.62 billion last quarter as BTC fell from $68,200 to $58,600)
• Total assets stood at $187.75 billion against liabilities of $183.64 billion

There's a less flattering side to the report, though: the excess reserve buffer — the gap between assets and liabilities, essentially the company's safety cushion — got cut roughly in half, from $8.23 billion in Q1 to $4.11 billion in Q2. Tether didn't specifically explain the decline. It's also worth understanding where the $1.5 billion profit actually came from: according to the report, the bulk of it wasn't crypto industry fees at all, but returns from US Treasury holdings and repo operations — meaning Tether is effectively earning like a large government-bond holder rather than a crypto company in the usual sense. That matters especially given that Tether has only two years left to bring USDT fully into line with the GENIUS Act, which specifically tightens requirements around stablecoin reserve structure and transparency. A full breakdown of the report is available via CoinDesk.

Nothing here should be taken as financial advice — just information to consider.