What the Heck Is a ‘Reverse Repo Note’ and What Happened to All of Tether’s?

Tether published its latest ‘proof of funds’ last week.

The figures are a snapshot of the controversial stablecoin issuer’s assets as of Sept. 30, 2021 and show it holding some $69.2 billion in reserves to back its tokens, which form an important backbone of the cryptomarket, and for Bitcoin in particular. The breakdown looks like this:

Look closely and you’ll see a line for “Reverse Repo Notes” that’s immediately followed by a big fat $0.

When Tether first provided an update on its holdings earlier this year it said it had 3.6% of its ‘cash equivalent’ assets in reverse repo notes (which worked out to about $1.11 billion based on total assets of $41 billion). Cash and cash-equivalents are used to back up the value of the stablecoin, and allow it to maintain a 1-to-1 peg against the dollar. In Tether’s June 30 release, reverse repo notes totaled $1 billion.