Tether Plows $5B Profit Into US Firms—While Sitting on $120B of Uncle Sam’s IOUs

Tether—the stablecoin giant that moonlights as a shadow bank—just deployed a cool $5 billion of its profits into US companies. Not bad for a ’crypto’ player that now rivals traditional finance whales.

Meanwhile, its $120 billion US Treasury stash makes it one of America’s largest creditors. Who needs the Fed when you’ve got a stablecoin printer and a risk appetite bigger than Wall Street’s bonus pool?

Funny how the ’decentralized’ crowd ends up propping up the very system it claims to disrupt. Maybe Satoshi forgot to mention the part where crypto becomes the ultimate bagholder for government debt.

Tether’s US treasuries

Beyond these equity investments, Tether has built a prominent position in US Treasuries. The company holds over $120 billion in total exposure through direct purchases, money market funds, and reverse repo agreements.

This makes Tether the 19th-largest holder of US Treasury bills globally, surpassing Germany’s $111.4 billion exposure, based on US Treasury Department data.

The assets serve as its stablecoin reserves and are critical in maintaining USDT’s dollar peg. Most are reportedly held at Cantor Fitzgerald, a leading US financial institution.

Meanwhile, Tether’s aggressive investment strategy follows a record-breaking year. In January, the firm reported over $13 billion in net profits for 2024. These earnings have strengthened its balance sheet and allowed for further expansion in agriculture, sports, and media despite ongoing scrutiny from regulators.

While USDT remains the largest stablecoin and the third-biggest crypto asset by market cap, regulatory uncertainty in the US has led Tether to consider issuing a separate stablecoin tailored to comply with forthcoming rules.