LONDON, July 31 Reuters The world39;s largest stablecoin, Tether, said on Monday its assets rose 5.7 to 86.5 billion in the second quarter of 2023, while it made more than 1 billion operational profit, a 30 increase on the previous quarter.

Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency which aim to keep a constant value and are usually backed by traditional assets such as dollars. Tether says there is 83.8 billion of its coin in circulation, which makes it the third largest cryptocurrency overall, according to market tracker CoinGecko.

Tether39;s reserves report, signed off by accountants BDO Italia, says Tether39;s assets rose to 86.5 billion in the three months to June 30, 2023, up 5.7 from the previous quarter and a record high, according to previous reports on its website.

Tether is a key cog in global digital asset trading, with many cryptotocrypto trades denominated in the stablecoin.

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.

Tether39;s holdings of U.S. Treasury Bills hit 55.8 billion, up 5.2 from the end of March, while nonU.S. Treasury Bills rose to 62.9 million, up more than 30 from the previous quarter, the report said.

Tether also counts 115 million of corporate bonds, 3.3 billion of precious metals, 1.7 billion worth of bitcoin, 5.5 billion of secured loans and 2.4 billion of unspecified other investments in its holdings….