Tether Reports Billion-Dollar Q1 Profit Amid Crypto Slump—And Says Audit Has Begun

Tether reported more than $1 billion in profit for the first quarter of 2026, against a backdrop of broader crypto market volatility, the company announced Friday.

The world’s top stablecoin issuer said net profit reached approximately $1.04 billion for the quarter. The company also reported that its buffer between the total value of its stablecoins in circulation, and the amount of reserves it has on hand to back those assets, has grown to an all-time high of $8.23 billion.

Tether’s Q1 figures were not verified by a Big Four accounting firm, but instead by an Italian service that relies on company attestations. In March, Tether tapped KPMG for its first-ever full audit, per a Financial Times report, which comes as the El Salvador-based issuer seeks to broaden its footprint in the United States.

The company said Friday that the audit commenced during 2026’s first fiscal quarter.

Of the nearly $192 billion in reserve assets Tether says it holds, the vast majority—approximately $141 billion—claim to be held in U.S. Treasuries. The company said Friday this positions it as one of the largest holders of U.S. government debt globally. 

Beyond Treasuries, the firm reported holding roughly $20 billion in physical gold and about $7 billion in Bitcoin.

Tether’s Q1 2026 profits roughly match last year’s, but pale in comparison to 2024, when the company reported a record profit of $4.52 billion, thanks largely to a surge in the price of Bitcoin and gold.

While the crypto market has seen significant volatility in the last several months, the last year has also seen major inroads for Tether in the United States, where the company has enjoyed the formal legalization of stablecoin issuance and launched a token tailored to new U.S. regulations. 

But that prominence has also come with additional scrutiny. On Thursday, two U.S. senators sent a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, questioning the Trump administration official about his intimate ties to the offshore stablecoin giant.