Tether’s Excess Reserves Plummet by Half: Bitcoin and Gold Losses in Q2 Report
Despite reporting a net operating profit of $1.5 billion in the second quarter, Tether faced a 50% drop in its excess reserves due to the decline in Bitcoin and gold prices.
Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, shared its financial results for the second quarter of 2026 with the public. Although the company demonstrated strong operational performance and generated billions in profit, there was a significant decline in the amount of excess reserves on its balance sheet. This buffer amount, which was $8.2 billion at the end of the first quarter, dropped to $4.1 billion as of the second quarter.
The root of this decline lies in the changes in the market value of the assets held by the company. Tether reported a total negative financial result of $3.2 billion for the first half of the year. Considering the $1 billion profit in the first quarter, this picture indicates that the company recorded a loss of over $4 billion in the second quarter. This loss largely reflects unrealized losses resulting from the decline in Bitcoin (BTC) and gold prices.
Loss of Value in Bitcoin and Gold Reserves
The company’s Bitcoin holdings fell from $6.6 billion to $5.8 billion due to market fluctuations. A similar situation was observed on the precious metals side; despite Tether adding 14 tons of gold to its portfolio, the total value of its gold reserves fell from $19.8 billion to $18.8 billion. On the other hand, the company continued to minimize its risks in this area by reducing the amount of secured loans by $2.4 billion to strengthen its risk management.
Despite this complex structure in the financial statements, CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that they had a great quarter despite high volatility in global markets. Emphasizing that the number of USDT users hit a record by exceeding 650 million, Ardoino drew attention to the sustainability of operational profitability. This proves that the Tether ecosystem continues to grow on a user basis despite the reserve depletion due to the decline in asset prices.