Tether's Reserve Buffer Halved Despite Record Profit

Tether's excess reserves decreased by half in Q2, from $8.23 billion to $4.11 billion, despite earning a profit of $1.5 billion.

The stablecoin issuer generated $1.5 billion in operating net profit in the second quarter of 2026, with total assets of $187.75 billion and total liabilities of $183.64 billion.

The company's reserve strategy has been a topic of discussion, with critics arguing that holding gold and Bitcoin creates a structural contradiction as these assets are highly volatile and do not generate interest income.

Tether's CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that the company possesses resilience, but Q2 data shows a gap between sufficient reserves and having a sufficient safety buffer.