Tether reported $1.5 billion in operating profit for the third quarter of 2026. Since the start of the year, the company has earned $4.5 billion.
What Tether is. It is the issuer of USDT - the largest stablecoin on the market. A stablecoin is a coin whose exchange rate is pegged to the dollar. The company issues tokens and holds reserves in real assets to back them.
Why this matters to a trader. USDT is the unit of account on almost all crypto exchanges. Deposits, futures and leverage are calculated in it, so the issuer's stability affects what the number on your balance is worth.
What backs the reserves?
The company's total assets reached $191.5 billion. Almost 70% of the portfolio is held in US government debt and related instruments.
- $191.5 billion - Tether's total assets
- $132.4 billion - US Treasury bonds and related instruments
- $7.95 billion - excess reserves
Excess reserves have nearly doubled. This is a buffer above the amount needed to back all issued USDT. The company uses this buffer to cover claims if some assets lose value.
Where did the profit come from?
The profit came not from speculation but from interest. Two sources made the main contribution.
- Treasury bills. Short-term US debt instruments that generate interest income.
- Reverse repo. Short-term placement of money collateralized by the same instruments.
The main driver is the rate. The higher the rate in the US, the more Tether earns simply for holding reserves. The dates of rate decisions are in the economic calendar.
What about the reporting?
The attestation was performed by the audit firm BDO. But it confirms a snapshot as of the end of September, not the composition of reserves throughout the entire quarter.
Key point: Tether still has no full audit under international standards. For a trader, this means the figures show one day, not the entire period.
Interest is paid on the principal, not on the percentage
Look at the arithmetic: Tether earns not by guessing direction but by the size of the sum it has working. It's the same for a trader - the same entry point on a $2,000 deposit and on a $100,000 account makes a difference not in skill but in zeros. Prop trading was invented precisely as a way to get trading nominal from a company: you pay for the evaluation, accept risk limits, share the profit. Understanding the mechanics is easier in a calm market.