Cointime

Download App
iOS & Android

The Evolution of Tether's Reserves

Validated Media

Tether’s success has always been contingent on USD₮ being backed by extremely liquid, conservative reserves. During a year when many crypto companies experienced massive headwinds, Tether has continued to improve its reserves in line with market conditions (rates, liquidity, etc).

Over the course of 2022, Tether has successfully reduced its commercial paper exposure to zero without any gaps in liquidity for USD₮ holders and without drawdown to Tether. USD₮ is now backed in excess of 81% by cash and cash equivalents without any exposure to commercial paper. This includes over $39 billion in direct exposure to US Treasuries with the remainder constituted by money market funds, reverse repo agreements, and cash & bank deposits.

These reserves represent conservative and highly liquid collateral that allows Tether to process redemptions quickly and in large sizes. This claim has been put to the test by Tether’s ability to smoothly process over $21 billion in redemptions in 2022 during the most significant financial crisis the crypto sector has seen.

Furthermore, despite selecting collateral based on its conservative and liquid nature, Tether’s reserves and operations have generated over $700 million in net profit which has been added to Tether’s reserves resulting in total excess reserves of $960 million.

Many of Tether’s critics over the years have claimed Tether would never be able to hold a reserve composition such as the one it currently holds. Tether will continue to prove its critics wrong.

Tether Approaches 50% of Stablecoin Market Share

In light of recent regulatory headwinds which have caused issues for BUSD and to a lesser degree USDC, USD₮ currently represents roughly half of the overall stablecoin market. Tether also settled more value than ever during 2022! The total settlement for Tether crossed $18.2 Trillion dollars which was more than either Mastercard or Visa.

Tether’s settlement volume also surpassed competitor stablecoins by a large margin.

Tethers Emerging Markets Focus

Unlike many of Tether's competitors, our focus is not on the United States, but on emerging markets around the world. The US is fortunate to have highly developed financial infrastructure and the world's premier currency, the Dollar.

Emerging markets, on the other hand, often struggle with limited financial infrastructure, unstable currencies, and limited access to the Dollar.

Tether's focus on emerging markets has been a key part of the Tether story and expands operations beyond a single main country.

Tether's focus has resulted in real adoption across the world.

In Brazil,“more than $1.4 billion was moved using $USD₮ across 79,836 operations in August. In October, almost $1.8 billion was transacted using USD₮ in 119,366 operations.” In Africa, the Bitfinex Leos community has been sharing stories from Tether users in Africa. These have featured users from Nigeria and Kenya documenting how Tether allows them to manage their businesses and financial lives despite currency instability and poor financial infrastructure.

In Lebanon, Turkey, Argentina, and Myanmar people have increasingly turned to USD₮ to navigate currency crises and impaired financial infrastructure.

Tether will continue to fight for financial freedom and support projects and organizations which advance global freedom and financial inclusion in the emerging markets.

Read more: https://tether.to/en/the-evolution-of-tethers-reserves/

Get the latest news here: Cointime channel — https://t.me/cointime_en

Comments

All Comments

Recommended for you

  • A Total of 37,212.18 DMD Permanently Burned Over the Past 7 Days

    July 9, 2026 — According to the latest on-chain data released by DMDAO, a total of 37,212.18 DMD has been permanently burned over the past seven calendar days through the protocol's predefined trading and wealth management burn mechanisms.

  • Whale Transfers 1,133 BTC to Coinbase Prime, Valued at $71.48 Million

    According to Onchain Lens monitoring, a whale transferred 1,133 BTC from Coinbase to Coinbase Prime through an intermediary wallet, valued at $71.48 million.

  • U.S. AI Chip Stocks Decline Before Market Open, Intel Falls Over 3%

    On July 7, U.S. AI chip stocks experienced widespread declines before the market opened. Intel dropped over 3%, while AMD, Qualcomm, and NXP fell more than 2%. TSMC, Broadcom, and Tesla decreased by over 1%, and NVIDIA declined by 0.7%.

  • China's Central Bank Increases Gold Reserves for the 20th Consecutive Month

    As of the end of June, China's gold reserves stood at 75.44 million ounces (approximately 2,346.446 tons), an increase of 480,000 ounces (about 14.93 tons) from the end of May, which reported 74.96 million ounces (approximately 2,331.52 tons). This marks the 20th consecutive month of gold accumulation.

  • China's Foreign Exchange Reserves in June at $341.6262 Billion

    On July 7, China's foreign exchange reserves for June stood at $341.6262 billion, a decrease of $26 billion from the end of May, representing a decline of 0.75%, with expectations set at $343.2 billion.

  • U.S. Storage Stocks Drop Pre-Market, SanDisk and Micron Down Over 4%

    On July 7, U.S. storage concept stocks collectively fell in pre-market trading. Western Digital dropped over 5%, SanDisk and Micron Technology fell over 4%, Seagate Technology declined over 3%, Rambus fell over 2%, and SMI fell over 1%.

  • U.S. Stocks in Optical Communication Sector Drop Pre-Market

    On July 7, stocks in the optical communication sector of the U.S. market collectively fell pre-market. Astera Labs dropped over 4%, while Marvell Technology, Credo Technology, and AXT Inc. fell more than 3%. Tower Semiconductor, MaxLinear, Corning, Applied Optoelectronics, GlobalFoundries, Lumentum, and Qorvo all declined by more than 2%. Coherent, Nokia, Amphenol, and Broadcom dropped over 1%.

  • Pre-market Decline in U.S. Storage Stocks

    In pre-market trading, U.S. storage concept stocks experienced a widespread decline, with Micron Technology falling by 4.8%, SanDisk dropping over 4%, Corning down more than 2%, and Intel decreasing by over 3%.

  • Two Departments: Support for Reinsurance Institutions to Increase Capital and Issue Supplementary Capital Tools

    On July 7, the National Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau and the Shanghai Municipal Government released several measures to accelerate the construction of the Shanghai International Reinsurance Center. Among these measures, they proposed to enhance the quality and efficiency of the reinsurance industry, support reinsurance institutions in increasing capital and expanding shares, and issuing supplementary capital tools to improve the capacity for internal capital accumulation and external capital supplementation, thereby strengthening the reinsurance industry's capabilities. The initiative aims to guide the insurance industry to focus on major national projects, strategic emerging industries, and livelihood security, consolidating insurance and reinsurance underwriting capabilities to enhance risk protection levels. It also supports reinsurance institutions in leveraging their professional technical advantages to assist the insurance industry in reducing risk.

  • Sources: Saudi Arabia Plans to Expand Oil Pipeline to Red Sea, Increasing Capacity by 2 Million Barrels Daily to Bypass Strait of Hormuz

    On July 7, five informed sources revealed that Saudi Arabia is considering expanding the crude oil pipeline capacity to its western coast on the Red Sea, allowing Saudi Arabia and its neighbors to transport more oil without passing through the Strait of Hormuz. This east-west pipeline, built in the early 1980s, has gained strategic importance since the outbreak of the Iran war in February and the disruption of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The pipeline can deliver up to 7 million barrels of crude oil per day to the Red Sea port. The CEO of Saudi Aramco stated in May that approximately 2 million barrels are supplied to west coast refineries, while about 5 million barrels are for export. Sources indicate that Saudi Arabia is in preliminary discussions with some neighboring countries regarding the pipeline expansion, aiming to add about 2 million barrels of pipeline capacity per day. It remains unclear whether Aramco's planned expansion involves upgrading existing infrastructure or constructing new pipelines. One source mentioned that the expansion plan also includes a smaller refined oil pipeline. Two sources indicated that the expansion scale could range from 1 million to 2 million barrels per day, with refined oil also being considered. Another source stated that the project would take several years and cost billions of dollars, requiring adjustments to Saudi crude pricing mechanisms.