Digital asset issuer Tether earned $1.04B in net profit during the first quarter of 2026 as per its latest attestation report, certified by BDO Italia.
What’s the Scoop?
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Key Figures: Tether generated $1.04B in net income in Q1 2026, but saw outstanding liabilities (primarily its USDT stablecoin) decline by 1.6% from $186.5B to $183.5 quarter-over-quarter. Still, shareholder equity (the residual between Tether’s reported assets and liabilities) increased by nearly 30% from $6.3B to $8.2B QoQ, allowing the firm to purport that excess reserves have increased to a new all-time high.
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Reserve Breakdown: Compared to Q4 2025, cash and cash equivalents outpaced declined by 4% in Q1 2026, from $147.2B to $141.2B, outpacing the drop in Tether’s outstanding liabilities. The largest percentage increase came from Tether’s “other investments” bucket, which surged 75% QoQ to $4.8B. The firm also disclosed $3.4B in public equity holdings for Q1 2026, a n newly created reserve category that would have previously been included within “other investments.” Inclusive of its public equity holdings, Tether’s “other investments” nearly tripled in the first quarter of 2026.
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Limited Scope: In March, Tether declared that it had, “entered a formal engagement with a Big Four accounting firm to complete its first full independent financial statement audit.” The stablecoin issuer’s Q1 attestation pales to the rigor of a comprehensive audit performed a Certified Public Accountant firm in accordance with GAAP standards, and it remains unclear when such an audit will be completed.
