Tether Boosts Q3 Operating Profit to $1.5 Billion as Reserves Nearly Double

By the end of September, Tether held $191.5 billion in assets against $183.5 billion in liabilities, creating an excess reserve of $7.95 billion—nearly twice the $4.1 billion reserve reported in June. The asset portfolio included $132.4 billion invested directly and indirectly in US Treasury bills.

This scale of investment places Tether alongside South Korea, which holds $134.2 billion in US government debt, and surpasses the United Arab Emirates, whose holdings total $116.1 billion, based on August data from the US Treasury Department.

During the first nine months of 2026, Tether generated $4.5 billion in net operating profit, primarily driven by income from US Treasury bills and reverse repurchase agreements. Additionally, the company’s Bitcoin reserves increased to $8.37 billion, up from approximately $5.8 billion at the end of June.

Tether’s stablecoin, USDT, remains the largest stablecoin globally, representing about 60% of the $297.3 billion stablecoin market according to DefiLlama. On Friday, CEO Paolo Ardoino announced on X that USDT’s user base has surpassed 700 million, with adoption mainly in emerging markets.

Despite its growth, Tether has faced long-standing criticism regarding the transparency of its reserves. In August, it completed its first full independent audit by KPMG US, though the audited financial statements have not been publicly released.

Tether’s expanded reserves and profitability underscore its significant role and stability within the stablecoin market, highlighting its comparative scale to major sovereign debt holders and broad adoption across emerging economies.