Tether reports Bitcoin reserves up by $170M alongside drawdown in precious metals allocation

Stablecoin issuer Tether’s (USDT) second-quarter attestation revealed a significant increase in its Bitcoin (BTC) reserves by more than $170 million, raising the total to $1.67 billion from the $1.5 billion posted during the first quarter

The increase aligns with the company’s goal of strengthening and diversifying its reserves with BTC purchases. In May, Tether revealed its intent to use 15% of its net realized operating profits to purchase the flagship digital asset.

In a contrasting development, the company’s reserves in precious metals, specifically gold, witnessed a decline, falling around $120 million to $3.27 billion from the first quarter’s $3.39 billion,

Tether excess reserves jump to $3.3 billion

Per the quarterly attestation, Tether reported that its excess reserves increased by $850 million to $3.3 billion—up from the $2.44 billion recorded during the first quarter.

The firm stated that its excess reserves are profits it chose not to distribute to shareholders, which are kept alongside its 100% reserves for issued USDT tokens.

Tether added that it made over $1 billion in operational profits between April and June 2023, representing a 30% increase quarter-on-quarter.

The profit underscores USDT’s dominance of the stablecoin market. According to CryptoSlate’s data, the asset’s circulating supply is approaching a new all-time high of $84 billion.

Tether reserves highly liquid

Tether also claimed that its reserves are very liquid, as 85% of all its investments are in cash and cash equivalents.

It added that its direct and indirect exposure to U.S. Treasury Bills and Treasuries account for $72.5 billion of its reserves.

Besides keeping $850 million of its quarterly profits in excess reserves, Tether spent the rest on a $115 million share buyback and invested in energy-related projects. However, the company said it did not include the energy investments in its consolidated reserves report.

Overall, the stablecoin issuer had total liabilities of $83.17 billion, all representing its issued tokens, while it had total assets worth at least $86.49 billion.

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