World’s largest stablecoin issuer, Tether, reported a $1.5B net profit in Q2 and a whopping $4.1B reserve buffer to handle any unforeseen USDT redemption emergencies.
This was a 44% increase from the Q1 2026 profit of $1.04B, mainly driven by U.S Treasury bonds and repos (repurchase agreements). Similarly, the stablecoin issuer increased its physical gold holdings from 132.2 tons to 146 tons – A 10.5% increase from the past quarter.
Reacting to the Q2 performance, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said,
Tether had a great second quarter of 2026, with ~1.5B in net operating profit, despite highly volatile global markets.
He reiterated the firm’s focus on the developing world and added,
USDT user base continued to grow, reaching the new all-time-high of 650M+, with the widest surge across all emerging markets, fueled by the continued period of geopolitical uncertainty. Tether continues to deliver financial inclusion in the developing world like no other company ever has in the history of humanity.
Tether expands in LATAM and Africa
AMBCrypto had earlier reported massive USDT usage in Venezuela, Bolivia, and the larger LATAM region during the ongoing West Asis crisis.
In particular, Venezuela’s USDT trading on Binance hit $1.4B, rivaling the country’s oil exports and central bank foreign exchange reserves.
Similarly, the growing demand for US dollars in Bolivia has made USDT a de facto alternative. In fact, the government of Bolivia is mulling making it a legal tender as banks and businesses are already actively using it.
How is Tether expanding across Africa?
Across Africa, USDT has largely been used for global remittance and to hedge local currency inflation. But Tether is deepening its integration with a little twist: tokenization.
Earlier this week, the firm announced a plan with Kenya’s study of tokenization of local stocks and to enable settlements in USDT.
If the concept is proven, Tether may expand its tokenization plan to other African countries. But whether regulatory friction and bureaucracy across Africa will see that plan to fruition remains unclear.
Why did USDT’s market cap fall by $7B?
That said, the USDT market cap has dropped by nearly $7B from May’s peak of $190B to $183.5B.
Tether’s US-focused stablecoin, USAT, has seen slow growth and has a market cap of $185M. The overall stablecoin market has also declined from $322B to $307.6B. That’s a 5% drop in Q2 amid an extended crypto winter.
Final Summary
- Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino billed the $1.5B net profit as a ‘great’ quarterly performance, pledging to focus on the developing world.
- Despite record USDT users, its market cap has dropped by nearly $7B amid a broader 5% contraction in the stablecoin sector.