Tether Reports $2.5B Q3 Profit with Strong Treasury and Gold Holdings

TLDR

• Tether reported $2.5B profit in Q3 2024, with year-to-date profits reaching $7.7B
• $1.3B came from U.S. Treasury yields, $1.1B from gold appreciation
• Company holds over $105B in cash/equivalents, including $84.5B in U.S. Treasury bills
• Total assets are $125.5B against $119.4B liabilities, with $6B+ in excess reserves
• Tether denies recent WSJ report about U.S. criminal investigation

Tether, the company behind the world’s largest stablecoin USDT, announced a profit of $2.5 billion for the third quarter of 2024, pushing its total earnings for the year to $7.7 billion.

The results come as the market value of its USDT stablecoin approaches $120 billion.

The company’s latest quarterly attestation, verified by BDO Italy, shows Tether International Limited and Tether Limited maintained $125.5 billion in reserve assets against $119.4 billion in liabilities as of September 30, 2024.

This represents an excess reserve of more than $6 billion backing Tether’s stablecoins.

A large portion of the quarter’s profits came from two main sources. The company earned $1.3 billion from yields on its U.S. Treasury holdings, while another $1.1 billion resulted from the increased value of its gold reserves.

During the third quarter, gold prices rose by approximately 15%.

The attestation reveals that Tether holds $105 billion in cash and cash equivalents, with U.S. Treasury bills making up $84.5 billion of that amount.

When including money market funds and reverse repurchase agreements, Tether’s total exposure to Treasury bills exceeds $102 billion.

Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s CEO, shared these details in a post on X (formerly Twitter), highlighting the company’s growing portfolio of traditional financial assets. The company’s reserve assets also include $5 billion in gold and $4.8 billion in bitcoin.

Tether released attestation for Q3/2024.
Another impressive quarter.

Summary as of 30 September 2024 for the companies managing stablecoins' reserves:

– $2.4 billion Q3/2024 net profits (~$1.3 billion deriving from U.S. Treasuries exposures and ~$1.1 billion from gold holdings)… https://t.co/kBRdCQfaOP

— Paolo Ardoino 🤖🍐 (@paoloardoino) October 31, 2024

Tether’s investment division, Tether Investments, showed strong growth during the quarter. The group’s venture arm, which oversees Tether’s investments in energy, mining, and artificial intelligence, reported a net equity value increase to $7.7 billion, up from $6.2 billion in the previous quarter.

The investment arm disclosed ownership of 7,100 bitcoin, valued at nearly $500 million. This holding demonstrates Tether’s continued involvement in the cryptocurrency market while maintaining substantial traditional asset reserves.

USDT, Tether’s stablecoin, remains a central component of the digital asset ecosystem. It ranks as the third-largest cryptocurrency by market value and serves as the primary form of liquidity on cryptocurrency exchanges.

The stablecoin has also gained traction as a payment method in emerging markets, showing its growing utility beyond crypto trading.

This expansion of use cases has helped maintain USDT’s position as the dominant stablecoin in the market.

Recent developments include addressing allegations made in a Wall Street Journal report. The publication claimed Tether was under U.S. criminal investigation for potential violations of sanctions and anti-money-laundering laws.

Tether firmly denied these allegations. In an interview with CoinDesk, CEO Paolo Ardoino emphasized that the company respects U.S. sanctions and remains committed to being a major purchaser of U.S. debt.

The company’s financial position continues to strengthen, with excess reserves growing steadily. This increase in reserves provides additional backing for the USDT stablecoin, which is designed to maintain a one-to-one peg with the U.S. dollar.

Tether’s quarterly attestation shows ongoing transparency efforts, with regular reports from BDO Italy verifying the company’s asset holdings and reserves. These attestations serve to provide clarity about the backing of USDT tokens in circulation.

The growth in Tether’s Treasury holdings makes it an increasingly large holder of U.S. government debt. The company’s $84.5 billion direct holding of Treasury bills represents a major position in the U.S. debt market.