Overall, Tether has almost $5 billion worth of BTC and precious metals in its reserves.
BDO Italia, the company offering auditing, compliance, tax preparations, corporate finance, risk, and advisory services, has recently published a stablecoin issuer Tether attestation report.
Based on the report, Tether holds Bitcoin (BTC) and precious metals in its reserves.
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The report shows that Tether finished the first quarter of this year with Bitcoin (BTC) holdings worth approximately $1.5 billion. This amount translates to nearly 2% of the total reserves, marking the first time Bitcoin has been featured as a line item in these reports.
Also making its debut on the reserve list were precious metals, with Tether holding an estimated $3.4 billion worth of metals, contributing to approximately 4% of the total reserves.
In its announcement, Tether clarified that the inclusion of Bitcoin and precious metals was designed to enhance transparency for USDT holders. The company elaborated, stating:
The CRR <Consolidated Reserves Report> provides for the first time, additional categories with the aim of increasing transparency into Tether’s reserves reporting. Physical gold, Overnight Repo, Corporate Bonds and Bitcoin ownership have been reported separately.
Furthermore, the announcement highlighted Tether's strong performance in the first quarter, with profits reaching $1.48 billion and a 20% increase in token circulation. This growth drove Tether's total reserves to an all-time high of approximately $81.8 billion.
Notably, Tether's rapid growth may be partially attributed to the weakening of its primary competitor, Circle's USD Coin (USDC).
USDC suffered a brief de-pegging in the secondary market in March due to concerns related to its exposure to the bankrupt Silicon Valley Bank. While the coin quickly regained its peg, its market cap has been on a downward trend.
In April, the news broke that Tether may have used the collapsed Signature Bank to enter the US banking system.
