Tether posted a net operating profit of $1.5 billion for the second quarter of 2026, according to a new attestation from accounting firm BDO released Friday, even as the buffer of assets backing its USDT stablecoin above and beyond its liabilities fell by roughly half.
The report shows Tether's excess reserves dropped to $4.11 billion at the end of Q2, down sharply from $8.23 billion at the close of the first quarter. As of June 30, 2026, the company held total assets of $187.75 billion against total liabilities of $183.64 billion.
Gold and bitcoin holdings keep growing
Despite the shrinking buffer, Tether continued adding to its hard-asset reserves during the quarter. The company's gold holdings rose by 14 metric tons to a total of 146.2 metric tons, up from 132.2 tons in the prior quarter. That growth in ounces came even as the value of the gold stack declined, from $19.84 billion to $18.84 billion, after gold prices fell roughly 15% to just over $4,000 per ounce.
Tether's bitcoin position grew by about 1,796 BTC, bringing its total holdings to 98,933 BTC. The dollar value of that position slipped from $6.62 billion to $5.80 billion, reflecting a decline in the bitcoin price used in the report from $68,200 to $58,600.
USDT supply keeps expanding
Even as the reserve cushion narrowed, USDT itself kept growing: total supply rose by about $446 million during the quarter to reach $184.6 billion in circulation. That continued expansion of liabilities is part of why the excess reserve figure compressed even though Tether remained solidly profitable.
What the numbers suggest
Tether's $1.5 billion quarterly profit shows the stablecoin issuer's core business, largely earning yield on the reserves backing USDT, remains highly lucrative. But the halving of the excess reserve buffer, combined with declining valuations on both its gold and bitcoin holdings, points to a tighter cushion than the company reported just one quarter earlier, even as its balance sheet keeps growing in absolute size.
