Tether Q2: $1.5B profit, USDT supply up, reserves drop $4B

Tether posted $1.5B Q2 profit and grew USDT supply to $184.6B, but excess reserves fell by $4B to $4.1B. The reserve drop and weaker profits have drawn market attention.

Tether reported a net operating profit of about $1.5 billion for Q2 2026, mainly fueled by returns from US Treasury holdings and repo operations. The USDT supply increased to approximately $184.6 billion, capturing over 60% of the stablecoin market. Despite this expansion, Tether’s excess reserves dropped sharply by more than $4 billion, falling from $8.2 billion at the end of Q1 to around $4.1 billion at the end of Q2. This notable reduction in the reserve buffer has raised concerns, especially since the company did not provide a detailed explanation for the decline. Year-over-year, Tether’s net profit also declined significantly compared to the $4.9 billion reported in Q2 2025. The company reduced its secured lending exposure by about $2.4 billion and increased its gold holdings by 14 tons. Most reserves remain in US government-backed instruments and short-term liquidity facilities, supporting liquidity for redemptions. The figures were confirmed by an attestation from BDO, an independent accounting firm.