Tether issues a stablecoin which is designed to maintain a constant value of $1. It is widely used as a way of moving money in cryptocurrency without being exposed to price swings in other cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ether.

The company says it maintains its dollar peg by holding dollar-based reserves which match the volume of cryptocurrencies it has created.

U.S. regulators have warned banks that stablecoin reserves could be subject to rapid outflows, for example if holders rushed to exchange such tokens back into traditional currency.

Tether agreed to provide quarterly reports on its reserves for two years, as part of a 2021 settlement with the New York Attorney General’s office. At the end of 2023, Tether’s reserves held $63 billion of U.S. Treasuries, as well as $3.5 billion of precious metals, $2.8 billion of bitcoin, $3.8 billion of “other investments” and $4.8 billion of “secured loans”, its latest report says.