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The USDT issuer has struggled to maintain dominance in the face of competition from rivals such as Circle and its USDC stablecoin.
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Tether, the issuer of the dollar-pegged USDt (USDT) stablecoin, saw record-breaking profits of $13 billion in 2024 and now has a larger-than-ever stockpile of US government bonds, according to a Jan. 31 announcement.
Tether’s US Treasury portfolio is now worth approximately $113 billion, the company said. The growth in the company’s Treasury holdings reflects the growing popularity of the USDT stablecoin, which Tether says is backed 1:1 with liquid US dollar-denominated assets.
The total market capitalization of USDT stood at roughly $137 billion as of Dec. 31, slightly less than Tether’s total reserves, which exceeded $143 billion, the company said. The figures are based on an attestation by BDO, an independent accounting firm.
Tether said in July that its Treasury reserve surpasses the size of all but 17 of the world’s governments, including Germany, the United Arab Emirates and Australia. It also holds gold and Bitcoin (BTC), which earned the company $5 billion in profits in 2024.
Tether’s consolidated net equity — the total of all company assets minus all liabilities — stands at $20 billion, it said. Tether issued around $23 billion in USDT in the fourth quarter of 2024 and $45 billion for the full year. USDT is continuously issued and redeemed.
Tether’s financial figures. Source: Tether
Related: Solana stablecoin supply up 73% since TRUMP launch: CCData
In 2024, Tether obtained a stablecoin issuer and digital asset service provider license in El Salvador, which now serves as the company’s headquarters.
Tether has been reinvesting a portion of its profits in adjacent industries, including sustainable energy, Bitcoin mining, data, AI infrastructure, peer-to-peer telecommunications technology, neurotech and education.
Declining dominance
USDT’s market cap dominance declined in 2024, falling to around 65% as rival USD Coin (USDC) gained traction, according to CCData. It continues to dominate on centralized exchanges, with 82% of the market share.
Circle Internet Financial’s USDC has a market capitalization of approximately $52 billion as of Jan. 31, according to Cointelegraph data. The USDC stablecoin dominates on Solana, comprising nearly 78% of stablecoin supply on the network.
Circle’s USDC has been gaining against USDT since December amid questions surrounding Tether’s compliance with Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA), the European Union’s regulatory framework designed to standardize and regulate the crypto market.
Magazine: Bitcoin payments are being undermined by centralized stablecoins
This article first appeared at Cointelegraph.com News
