Tether reported net earnings of about $1.04 billion for the first quarter of 2026, as its gold reserves became one of the largest parts of its balance sheet story.
The company published its first-quarter certification, covering assets backing USD₮ as of March 31, 2026, and showed that the company’s excess reserves reached a record high of $8.23 billion. Tether said the reserve base remained mostly in short-term, liquid and high-quality instruments, while markets remained difficult throughout the quarter.
USD₮ remained large and stable over the same period. The company reported $183 billion in token-related liabilities at the end of March, listing total assets at $191,767,741,495 and total liabilities at $183,535,531,717.
Of these liabilities, $183,438,487,810 came from digital tokens issued. This leaves assets above liabilities by $8,232,209,778. No stock ticker applies to Tether, BDO, or World Gold Councilwhile Bitcoin is traded as BTC.
Tether has $141 billion of treasury exposure while gold and Bitcoin sit within the reserves
Tether held most of its reserves in short-term instruments tied to the US government. Direct and indirect exposure to US Treasury bills reached about $141 billion by March 31, 2026. The company said that most of the reserve assets lie in government-backed holdings and short-term liquidity facilities.
This reserve planning placed Tether as the 17th largest holder of US Treasuries worldwide. The company kept its main reserve focus on short-term sovereign debt, which is important because the US dollar is widely used and should meet repayments without drama. In the world of cryptocurrencies, the drama is truly free.
The reserve book also includes other assets. Physical gold holdings amounted to about $20 billion. The company said the precious metal portion consists entirely of actual gold, not paper claims. Bitcoin holdings amounted to about $7 billion, giving Tether exposure to the largest cryptocurrency asset by market capitalization.
Tether has also separated its own investments from the reserves that back the issued tokens. These investments fall under Tether Investments and are funded with excess capital and profits. These holdings do not count as part of the USD₮ reserve backing, and allegedly do not impact the liquidity, quality or transparency of the token reserve base, the company said.
Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether He said“Our responsibility is to ensure that USD₮ works without any compromises. This means building a system that behaves the same way in any market situation, not just when things are stable.
By April, Paulo said US$₮ was trading at or near record trading levels, and more than US$5 billion was added to the second quarter. He also linked this request to the launch of Tether Wallet, a self-custody app designed for people who use USD₮ every day.
Gold falls as the standoff between the US and Iran continues to cause central banks to remain cautious
The gold market came under pressure as Tether announced its large bullion position, with prices falling as much as 1.2% after rising 1.5% in the previous session. The merchants were watching The confrontation between the United States and IranWhich hurt hopes for a cut in interest rates from the central bank.
Trump said that the naval blockade on Iran will remain in place. Military leaders also briefed him on additional options. Iran has said the blockade must end before the Strait of Hormuz is reopened.
This whole war has been bad for gold because bullion doesn’t pay interest. Gold has fallen about 13% since the conflict began at the end of February.
Gold continued to rise on Thursday when the yen recorded its largest jump in three years, and the Japanese government announced intervention in the currency market. A weak US dollar usually helps gold because the metal is priced in dollars.
The World Gold Council said that central banks added gold in the first quarter at the fastest pace in more than a year. Most analysts remained optimistic about bullion, even after the recent decline.
