Tether reports $170 million increase in Bitcoin reserves as precious metals allocations decrease

Stablecoin issuer Tether’s (USDT) second quarter attestation shows a significant increase in its Bitcoin (BTC) reserves by more than $170 million, from $1.5 billion in the first quarter to $1.67 billion.

The increase is in line with the company’s goal to strengthen and diversify its reserves by purchasing Bitcoin. In May, Tether revealed its intention to use 15% of the operating revenues achieved on its network to purchase Bitcoin.

In stark contrast, the company's reserves of precious metals, especially gold, declined, falling to $3.27 billion from $3.39 billion in the first quarter.

Tether's additional reserves rebound to $3.3 billion

According to the quarterly certification, Tether reported an increase of $850 million in additional reserves to $3.3 billion, up from $2.44 billion recorded in the first quarter.

The institution said its additional reserves are income it has chosen not to distribute to shareholders, held alongside 100% of its reserves of issued USDT tokens.

Tether added that its operating revenue increased by $1 billion between April and June 2023, a 30% increase from the previous month.

The revenue highlights USDT’s dominance in the stablecoin market, with the asset’s circulation approaching a record high of $84 billion.

Tether reserves are extremely liquid

Tether also claims that its reserves are very liquid, as 85% of all its investments are in currency and currency equivalents.

It added that its direct and indirect promotion of U.S. Treasuries accounted for $72.5 billion of its foreign reserves.

In addition, Tether set aside $850 million of its quarterly revenue as additional reserves, using the remaining funds for a $115 million share buyback and investing in energy-related projects. However, the company said that its electricity investments were not included in its consolidated reserve reporting.

In total, stablecoin issuers have total liabilities of $83.17 billion, all representing the tokens they issued, while their total assets are valued at at least $86.49 billion.