Tether, the firm behind the stablecoin USDT, has released an assurance report that provides a breakdown of the company’s consolidated assets.
Per the report, Tether has a total backing of $62.7 billion, which is roughly the same as the total market cap for the industry’s most popular stablecoin.
The minor discrepancy between CoinGecko’s current figure of $62.8 billion is likely due to the lapse between now and when the latest assurance report was executed. The report was conducted by Moore Cayman, a Cayman Islands-based auditor, on June 30, 2021.
Of that total backing, $30.8 billion comes from commercial paper and certificates of deposit.
Critically, just 10% of Tether’s backing comes from cash and bank deposits.
Tether’s reserves in May
The report has been published following Tether’s breakdown of its reserves in May of this year.
That report suggested that as of March 31, 2021, 76% of Tethers reserves were held in cash or cash equivalents. It also showed specifically that under 3% of all Tethers were backed by cash, despite previous claims that Tethers were 100% backed by cash. The remaining quarter that was not held in cash or cash equivalents was held in secured loans, bonds, and other investments that include Bitcoin.
Today, Tether’s chief technology officer, Paolo Ardoino, said Tether understands “the importance of transparency and accountability.” The company has previously faced criticism on this front, given the fact the report published in May was the first time the company’s reserves were made available to the public for seven years.
