Tether reports Q3 profit of $1.5B as reserve buffer approaches $8B

• At $1.5 billion, Tether's Q3 net operating profit was unchanged from the preceding quarter.
• From $4.1 billion at the end of June, Tether's reserve buffer rose to $7.95 billion in September, nearly doubling.
• Investment gains of $715 million made a substantial contribution to Coinbase's third-quarter net income of $718.7 million.

Third-quarter net operating profit at Tether was reported at $1.5 billion, unchanged from Q2 2026.

Net operating profit for the first nine months of the year totalled $4.5 billion, according to the company's Q3 report released on Friday. Of that, $1.5 billion in profit came in the third quarter, with US Treasury bills and reverse repurchase agreements generating the bulk of the income.

By the end of September, Tether's reserve buffer had risen to $7.95 billion from $4.1 billion at the end of June, an almost twofold increase. The buffer measures the amount by which its assets exceed its liabilities.

Against total liabilities of $183.5 billion, the company held total reserve assets of $191.5 billion. Direct and indirect US Treasury bill holdings stood at $132.4 billion.

Despite volatility across the wider cryptocurrency market, USDT issuance was largely stable at around $184 billion throughout the first three quarters of 2026.

According to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, quarterly operating profit of $1.5 billion and excess reserves of nearly $8 billion gave the company's operations a solid foundation.

Maintaining enough liquidity to meet redemption requests and sustain its infrastructure in challenging market conditions was the aim of the company's reserve strategy, he added.

Adroino said: “The purpose behind our reserve strategy is to ensure we can continue to serve people when conditions become more difficult,”

Coinbase regains profitability despite lower trading revenue

By contrast, Coinbase announced on Thursday that Q3 net income had reached $719 million, up from $432.6 million a year earlier. Total revenue, however, declined 35% YoY to around $1.22 billion, with reduced cryptocurrency trading activity putting pressure on transaction revenue.

After three successive loss-making quarters, Coinbase returned to profit in Q3. Gains on cryptocurrency assets held for investment nevertheless accounted for much of the result.

Gains on those assets amounted to approximately $715 million for the quarter. Once investment gains and losses and their related tax effects were excluded, adjusted net income came to $77.7 million.

Weaker activity on the platform pushed transaction revenue down 43% YoY to $590 million. Adjusted EBITDA, meanwhile, rose 60% from the preceding quarter to $333 million, extending Coinbase's run of positive adjusted EBITDA to a 15th consecutive quarter.

With a 10.7% share of total cryptocurrency trading volume, the exchange achieved its fourth successive quarter of market share gains across spot and derivatives markets.

Growth also continued in Coinbase's stablecoin business: average USDC holdings across its products hit a record $22 billion in Q3.

Up 49% YoY, those holdings represented approximately 30% of USDC's average market capitalisation over the quarter.

Supported by on-chain partnerships and greater integration of the stablecoin into its products, Coinbase said it had captured 50% of USDC's total economics over the past year.