BDO Italia's latest Proof Report on Tether shows that Bitcoin accounted for about $1.5 billion in stablecoin issuer reserves at the end of the first quarter, or roughly 2% of the total. Accounting firm does not list bitcoin, As an item in a previous report. The precious metal also had its own entry in the report, showing that Tether, Holds assets worth about $3.4 billion, or about 4% of total reserves.
In an accompanying announcement, Tether said it included information about its bitcoin and precious metal holdings to increase transparency for holders of the USDT stablecoin: “For the first time, the CRR [Comprehensive Reserve Report] provides additional categories with the aim of increasing the transparency of reporting of Tether reserves. Physical gold, overnight repos, corporate bonds and Bitcoin ownership have been reported separately.”
The announcement also said that Tether made a profit of $1.48 billion in the first quarter and increased its token supply by 20%. Tether's total reserves are at an all-time high of approximately $81.8 billion due to increased circulation.
Tether's latest growth may be due in part to the decline of its biggest rival, Circle's USD Coin. USDC was briefly depegged in secondary markets in March amid concerns over its exposure to the failed Silicon Valley bank. The token quickly re-pegged, but it's market capitalization has since declined. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire cited the alleged crackdown on cryptocurrencies by US regulators as another factor in its recent decline.
