Tether reduced its commercial paper holdings by 17% from $24.2 billion to $20.1 billion in the quarter ended March 31, according to its latest certification report.
The majority of that $20.1 billion (about $18 billion) consists of A-1 and A-2 securities, which are classified as investment grade.
The reduction continued with another 20% reduction since April 1, which will be reflected in the second quarter report, Tether announced Thursday.
Tether also slightly reduced its cash deposits to $4.1 billion from $4.2 billion and increased its holdings of U.S. Treasury securities to $39.2 billion from $34.5 billion.
The "other investments" category, which includes digital tokens, remained constant, dropping slightly from $5.02 billion to $4.96 billion. This area is considered the most troubling aspect of the attestation reports, as it is not clear what exactly these assets are, which are not disclosed by Tether.
Furthermore, the report does not take into account the recent decline in crypto markets that has been observed since the beginning of May.
Tether's attestation report was approved by auditing firm MHA Cayman. As part of a settlement with the New York Attorney General in February 2021, Tether is required to publish quarterly certifications of its assets and liabilities to make it more transparent about what exactly is behind its USDT.
Tether now has total assets of $82.4 billion, up from $78.7 billion as of Dec. 31, 2021.