Tether reserve buffer approaches $8B as Q3 profit reaches $1.5B

• Quarterly earnings held steady at Tether, with Q3 net operating profit of $1.5 billion unchanged from the preceding quarter.
• Tether strengthened its reserve buffer to $7.95 billion in September, nearly twice the $4.1 billion recorded at June-end.
• Investment gains underpinned Coinbase's third-quarter earnings, contributing $715 million to net income of $718.7 million.

With quarterly earnings holding steady, Tether posted net operating profit of $1.5 billion for the third quarter, 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 this, $1.5 billion was earned 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, almost double the $4.1 billion at June-end. This 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 exposure to US Treasury bills reached $132.4 billion.

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

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

He also explained that the reserve strategy aimed to ensure adequate liquidity for redemptions while supporting the company's infrastructure through challenging market conditions.

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

What drove Coinbase's return to profit despite lower trading revenue?

Turning to Coinbase, the exchange disclosed on Thursday that Q3 net income reached $719 million, against $432.6 million a year earlier. Total revenue, however, declined 35% YoY to approximately $1.22 billion as subdued crypto trading activity dragged on transaction revenue.

After three successive loss-making quarters, Coinbase returned to profit in Q3. Gains on crypto assets held as investments, however, accounted for much of that recovery.

Gains on those assets amounted to approximately $715 million during the quarter. After excluding investment gains and losses and the related tax effects, the company's adjusted net income came to $77.7 million.

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

With a 10.7% share of overall cryptocurrency trading volume, the exchange achieved a 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 climbed to a record $22 billion in Q3.

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

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