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Tether Prints $1 Billion Amid Turmoil, but $8.23 Billion Reserve Fund Still Under Debate
Tether reports a net profit of $1.04 billion in the first quarter of 2026 and increases its buffer reserve to a record $8.23 billion, despite the global market experiencing new volatility.
The figures come from a quarterly attestation by accounting firm BDO. They confirm that the USD₮ liabilities are in the range of approximately $183 billion against assets valued at $191.77 billion, so Tether has an excess capital of over $8.2 billion.
Treasury Yield Drives Q1 Profit
Tether’s reserves are mostly invested in short-term government bonds. Direct and indirect exposure to U.S. government bonds reaches around $141 billion as of March 31.
According to the company, this position makes Tether the 17th largest holder of U.S. government debt in the world.
This position also acts as the main engine. With government bonds yielding over 4%, the $141 billion exposure can generate annual interest income worth billions of dollars, the same dynamic that drove profitability in the first quarter.
This $8.23 billion buffer essentially comes from accumulated yields, not from external capital injections.
A sustained decline in short-term interest rates could directly pressure this model.
Gold and Bitcoin Outside the Safety Net
In addition to government bonds, Tether also holds about $20 billion in physical gold, and $7 billion in Bitcoin
BTCUSD
. Both represent roughly 14% of Tether’s reserve base.
The company describes this composition as a hedge against macroeconomic pressures. However, unlike government bonds, these two assets are traded daily and can cause the surplus figure to fluctuate.
Bitcoin alone has experienced several quarterly declines of more than 30% in previous cycles.
Token supply remained around $183 billion throughout the quarter, with USD₮ circulation increasing by more than 5 billion units at the start of Q2 thanks to the launch of the Tether Wallet self-custody product.
The unanswered question lies at the end of the press release. Tether states that the long-awaited full audit “has officially begun” this quarter, marking the first time the company has included this process in the attestation.
Until the audit is completed, the $8.23 billion buffer remains an attestation figure, not an audited result.