Tether's second-quarter materials report $1.5 billion in operating profit, but the attached reserve report implies a $4.211 billion loss for the same three months that the company has not reconciled. Gold and bitcoin markdowns explain most of the shortfall, cutting Tether's excess reserve cushion from $8.23 billion to $4.11 billion in three months.
According to Crypto News Flash, Tether's July 31 attestation from BDO confirmed $1.5 billion in net operating profit for the second quarter. CryptoSlate reports that the same reserve materials imply a $4.211 billion loss for the same three months, a figure the company has not reconciled with the reported profit.
Subtracting the first quarter's positive $1.04 billion financial result from the reported first-half figure of negative $3.17 billion produces that implied second-quarter loss. After an $89 million net capital offset, the hit cut Tether's reserve cushion from $8.23 billion to $4.11 billion in three months, above roughly $184 billion of liabilities.
Gold and bitcoin explain most, not all, of the hit
Tether's reserve report values gold, bitcoin, and other holdings at fair value, so price swings alone move the numbers. Gold's disclosed valuation price fell from $4,668.06 to $4,008.02 per ounce between March 31 and June 30, while bitcoin's fell from $68,193.95 to $58,642.15 over the same stretch.
Based on Tether's roughly 4.25 million ounces of gold and 97,137 BTC at the start of the quarter, that implies about $2.8 billion of gold markdowns and $928 million of bitcoin markdowns — $3.73 billion combined, leaving part of the $4.211 billion hit unexplained. Secured loans fell from $15.83 billion to $13.45 billion, which Tether has framed as deliberate de-risking.
Profit still flows into a $20 billion portfolio
The reserve report tells only half the story of what Tether did with the quarter's cash. According to Crypto News Flash, Tether has told PitchBook that its venture investments come from excess profit rather than USDT reserves, building a portfolio the company values at more than $20 billion across over 120 companies. The bets span artificial intelligence, robotics, bitcoin mining, and emerging-market payments.
A cushion down to 2.24% of liabilities
Tether's assets still exceed liabilities, keeping the stablecoin collateralized, but the cushion's share of total liabilities fell from roughly 4.49% to 2.24% between the two dates. Gold and bitcoin alone totaled $24.64 billion at quarter-end, so a roughly 14.5% decline across gold, bitcoin, and public equities would consume the remaining buffer before any operating profit arrives to offset it.
At the current $1.5 billion-per-quarter profit rate, rebuilding the cushion to its first-quarter level would take about 2.75 quarters, assuming no further markdowns.
Sources: CryptoSlate, Crypto News Flash
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