Tether Profit Soars Amid Shrinking Reserve Buffer

Tether, the company behind the widely used USDT stablecoin, reported its strongest quarterly profit in over a year. The net operating profit climbed to $1.5 billion for the second quarter of 2026, up from $1.04 billion in Q1.

However, this growth was accompanied by a significant decline in Tether's excess reserve buffer. The buffer dropped by roughly 50% over three months, falling from $8.23 billion at the end of Q1 to $4.11 billion at the end of Q2.

Tether's CEO Paolo Ardoino attributed the quarter's resilience to the company's reserve strategy holding up under market pressure, noting that USDT remained fully backed throughout.