Tether, the leading stablecoin issuer by market capitalization, announced a net profit of $1.04 billion for the first quarter, accompanied by a record increase in excess reserves to $8.23 billion. Although the company did not release comparative figures for the previous year or the fourth quarter, it did report a net profit exceeding $10 billion for the entirety of 2025. The circulation of the dollar-pegged USDT remained stable, with total token-related liabilities of approximately $183 billion as of March 31, according to the company's quarterly report. Total assets stood at just under $192 billion.
The report's release coincided with growing global demand for stablecoins, which are increasingly being utilized for international payments beyond crypto trading. Recently, Visa expanded its stablecoin settlement pilot to include nine blockchains.
Tether's excess reserves, which have grown from $6.3 billion at the end of 2025, are attributed to the company's continued profitability and a reserve base comprising short-duration, high-quality liquid instruments. As the third-largest cryptocurrency, USDT boasts a market capitalization of nearly $190 billion, ranking behind bitcoin and ether. The majority of Tether's reserves are invested in U.S. government-backed instruments and short-term liquidity facilities, with the firm being the 17th-largest holder of U.S.
Treasuries worldwide. Over the past two years, Tether has become a top 10 buyer of U.S. Treasuries, surpassing countries such as Taiwan, Israel, and the UAE. Additionally, the company holds approximately $20 billion in physical gold and $7 billion in bitcoin reserves.