According to the latest reports from crypto.news, Tether reported $1.04 billion in net profit for Q1 2026, alongside a record $8.23 billion in excess reserves. The stablecoin issuer's total assets stood at $191.77 billion, compared to $183.54 billion in liabilities, largely tied to issued tokens. These figures point to continued growth in the scale of the stablecoin issuer, with its reserve buffer—often viewed as a measure of financial resilience—reaching its highest level to date. The latest quarterly results underscore the scale the stablecoin market has reached, with liabilities tied to issued tokens now exceeding $183 billion. The Q1 profit is driven by Tether's $141 billion Treasury position, which at prevailing Treasury bill rates above 4% would generate approximately $4 billion in annualized interest income.
According to the latest reports from SpendNode, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden have opened their fourth formal probe into Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's relationship with Tether, demanding loan documentation by May 13, 2026. The catalyst for this latest investigation was a credit document filed in New York and surfaced by Bloomberg, showing Tether as a creditor to Dynasty Trust A, a trust structured for the benefit of Lutnick's four children who acquired his Cantor Fitzgerald stake during his Senate confirmation process. The senators argue that the loan, combined with Lutnick's role advising the GENIUS Act, raises fresh conflict questions about whether a sitting cabinet official helped shape legislation that materially benefited a company with which his family has an active financial creditor relationship.
As reported by The Economic Times, Tether reduced gold purchases sharply in Q1, slowing from 27 to 6 tons while maintaining diversified reserves across U.S. Treasuries, Bitcoin, and gold-linked assets. The company's reserves backing Tether USDT had gold stocks worth $19.8 billion as of March 31, equivalent to approximately 132 metric tons of gold at market prices, compared to 126 tons as of December 31. The reserves backing Tether USDT are predominantly U.S. Treasury Bills worth $117 billion, with gold representing only 10% of the total backing. Tether XAUT gold token maintains 22 tons of gold backing, up 6 tons from December, while Bitcoin comprises $7 billion of the total reserves. The $141 billion US Treasuries position makes Tether the 17th-largest holder of American government debt globally, with $20 billion in physical gold and $7 billion in Bitcoin rounding out the reserve base.
According to crypto.news, a formal KPMG audit commenced in March 2026, moving Tether toward a full Big Four audit for the first time after years of relying on attestations from BDO and a previous Italian accounting firm. CEO Paolo Ardoino emphasized the company's commitment to compliance, stating "Our responsibility is to make sure USDT works without compromise. That means building a system that behaves the same way in any market condition, not just when things are stable." The timing of this disclosure is politically consequential as US banks have been pushing to slow the GENIUS Act rulemaking, partly because the act would require stablecoin issuers to hold fully verified dollar reserves. The FDIC proposed GENIUS Act rules require stablecoin issuers to maintain 1:1 reserves backed by cash or highly liquid instruments, a standard Tether's reserve breakdown technically meets but which requires full audit verification rather than an attestation to satisfy regulators and institutional counterparties.
