How profitable is Tether (USDT), and what backs its reserves?

[bonk]

Total stablecoins market cap. Source: DefiLlama

Tether reported $1.04 billion in net profit for Q1 2026, alongside a record $8.23 billion in excess reserves, according to its latest attestation.

Its reserves are heavily concentrated in safe, liquid assets:

~$141B in US Treasury exposure (direct + indirect)
~$20B in physical gold
~$7B in Bitcoin (BTC)
Total assets: ~$191.8B vs liabilities of ~$183.5B

This puts Tether among the largest global holders of US Treasuries (ranked ~17th), reinforcing its reliance on traditional sovereign debt markets for backing.

Importantly, Tether states that USDT reserves are separated from its proprietary investments, which are funded from excess capital and profits rather than customer funds.

[chainsniff]

Tether is the 17th largest holder of US Treasuries which means the US government is now financially incentivized to ensure USDT remains stable, that is either a feature or a very specific kind of systemic risk depending on your perspective.