Tether, the issuer of the popular USDT stablecoin, released an attestation showing its financial reserves as of the end of the second quarter of 2023. The accounting firm BDO determined Tether increased its total reserves by $850 million in Q2. BDO also found Tether’s excess reserves, defined as profits kept on top of the reserves backing all outstanding USDT tokens, reached $3.3 billion by June 30. Tether states this demonstrates its commitment to prudent risk management and caring for its community by maintaining reserves well above the minimum required. Overall, the attestation reveals Tether continues to be strongly backed by substantial financial reserves.
The Tether reserves report also disclosed details on the company’s investments. Tether has around $56 billion invested in U.S. Treasury bills, most with maturities under 90 days. They also have $8.1 billion in money market funds indirectly invested in Treasuries. Additionally, Tether has been given around $9 billion in Treasuries as collateral for reverse repurchase agreements.
Other notable investments include $1.67 billion in Bitcoin and $5.5 billion in secured loans backed by liquid assets subject to margin calls.
Tether’s CTO Paolo Ardoino commended the company’s transparency with this disclosure. In a statement, Ardoino said Tether aims to provide the public with assurance about the strength of its reserves while protecting sensitive information that could be used by bad actors. He said the company will continue working to strike this balance going forward.
As part of expanding into renewable energy, Tether recently invested in two bitcoin mining projects in Latin America. In June, Tether announced it is participating in Volcano Energy, a $1 billion green bitcoin mining initiative in El Salvador. Additionally, in May, Tether partnered with a startup in Uruguay to support the launch of a new Bitcoin mining operation there. Through these investments in the region, Tether aims to grow its involvement in bitcoin mining powered by clean, renewable energy sources.
