In the first quarter of 2022, the issuer of the stablecoin USDT—Tether Holdings Limited—reduced its reserves in commercial paper by 17%. By the end of the second quarter the company planned to reduce the collateral in these assets by a further 20%.
Assurance Opinion Once Again Re-affirms Tether’s Reserves Fully Backed; Reveals Significant Reductions in Commercial Paper and Increase in U.S. Treasury Bills https://t.co/8qVSQFQBeY
— Tether (@Tether_to) May 19, 2022
Over the three months of 2022, the company’s reserves in commercial paper fell from $24.2 billion to $20.1 billion, according to the audit report by the Cayman-based accounting firm MHA Cayman.
As of 31 March, Tether’s total assets stood at over $82.42 billion. According to CoinGecko, at the time of writing the market cap of USDT was $74.12 billion.
“The reserves of the consolidated group, created to back the issued digital tokens, exceed the amount required to redeem them,” the report says.
The Cayman-based auditors also noted an increase in USDT collateral in U.S. Treasury securities. Their amount rose from $34.5 billion to $39.2 billion. The reserves in cash deposits, by contrast, fell from $4.2 billion to $4.1 billion.
The share of the “other investments” category remained virtually unchanged — $4.96 billion ($5.02 billion in the previous quarter). This group includes all digital assets used to back USDT. Which tokens are included is not specified.
On May 12, amid the cryptocurrency market crash the price of USDT briefly lost parity with the US dollar.