Tether reported $1.5 billion in third-quarter net operating profit and rebuilt its excess reserve cushion to nearly $8 billion, according to its Oct. 30 attestation prepared by BDO. The issuer said total reserve assets reached $191.45 billion as of Sep. 30 against $183.50 billion in liabilities, leaving a surplus of about $7.95 billion, or roughly 4.34% of liabilities.
The buffer nearly doubled from June’s $4.11 billion excess reserves despite operating earnings matching the previous quarter. The increase was driven partly by valuation gains: Tether’s direct Bitcoin position rose from $5.8 billion to $8.4 billion, adding about $2.6 billion, mostly from the 42.6% rise in Bitcoin’s price between reports. Physical gold rose to $19.08 billion, while public equities, other investments and secured loans also recorded higher values.
However, the most liquid reserve category slipped to $139.58 billion from $140.6 billion. Directly held U.S. Treasury bills increased from $115.0 billion to $122.8 billion, while overnight reverse repos dropped from $18.6 billion to $9.5 billion. That rotation left cash, cash-equivalents and short-term deposits at about 72.9% of total reserves, down from 74.9% in June.
Tether said direct and indirect U.S. Treasury bill holdings totaled $132.4 billion, with a weighted average maturity below 90 days. The overall portfolio included $19.08 billion in physical gold, $8.37 billion in Bitcoin valued using a Sep. 30 price of $83,621.23, $14.18 billion in secured loans, $6 billion in other investments and $4.18 billion in public equities.
Nine-month operating profit reached $4.5 billion, with Treasury bills and reverse repos providing most income. A separate equity reconciliation showed a $1.66 billion financial result for January through September and $519 million in net capital outflows. Tether also restated opening equity to $6.814 billion from $6.338 billion after shareholders approved audited 2025 statements on Aug. 13, 2026.
CEO Paolo Ardoino said the company’s responsibility is to make sure USD₮ remains dependable when people need it most, adding that liquidity for redemptions and resources for infrastructure remain priorities. Tether accounts for token liabilities—reported at $183.47 billion—as obligations repayable on demand at their contractual redemption value.
Most USDT holders exit via exchanges rather than direct redemption with Tether, which requires approved accounts, a $100,000 minimum and a fee of $1,000 or 0.1%, whichever is greater.
