Stablecoin
issuer
Tether
Thursday
reported
$2.5
billion
of
group-wide
net
profits
in
the
third
quarter
of
the
year,
bringing
year-to-date
profit
to
$7.7
billion
as
the
market
capitalization
of
its
flagship
cryptocurrency
(USDT)
neared
$120
billion.
Some
$1.3
billion
of
the
profits
derived
from
yield
on
U.S.
Treasury
holdings,
while
another
$1.1
billion
was
thanks
to
the
unrealized
appreciation
of
the
company’s
gold
holdings
in
the
reserve,
Tether
CEO
Paolo
Ardoino
said
in
an
X
post.
The
price
of
gold
was
higher
by
about
15%
during
the
third
quarter.
According
to
the
latest
quarterly
attestation
signed
by
accounting
firm
BDO
Italy,
the
company’s
stablecoin
issuer
arm
Tether
International
Limited
and
Tether
Limited
disclosed
$125.5
billion
of
assets
in
reserve
against
$119.4
billion
in
liabilities
as
of
September
30.
Excess
reserves
backing
Tether’s
stablecoins
rose
to
over
$6
billion.
Some
$105
billion
of
the
reserve
assets
were
held
in
cash
and
cash
equivalents,
including
$84.5
billion
in
U.S.
Treasury
bills,
per
the
attestation.
The
company’s
direct
and
indirect
exposure
to
T-bills,
which
includes
holdings
in
money
market
funds
and
reverse
repurchase
agreements,
surpassed
$102
billion.
It
also
held
$5
billion
worth
of
gold
and
$4.8
billion
in
bitcoin
(BTC)
among
reserve
assets.
Tether
Investments,
the
group’s
venture
arm
that
manages
Tether’s
growing
foray
into
energy,
mining
and
artificial
intelligence,
had
a
net
equity
value
of
$7.7
billion,
up
from
$6.2
billion
in
the
previous
quarter.
It
also
disclosed
owning
7,100
bitcoin
(BTC)
worth
nearly
$500
million,
the
company
said
in
a
blog
post.
Tether’s
USDT
is
a
crucial
part
of
the
digital
asset
ecosystem,
being
the
third
largest
cryptocurrency
by
market
cap
and
serving
as
the
main
form
of
liquidity
on
exchanges
and
increasingly
as
a
payment
method
in
emerging
markets.
A
Wall
Street
Journal
report
last
week
alleged
Tether
is
under
U.S.
criminal
investigation
for
possible
violations
of
sanctions
and
anti-money-laundering
laws,
which
the
company
denied.
Paolo
Ardoino,
CEO
of
Tether,
said
in
an
interview
with
CoinDesk
that
the
company
respects
U.S.
sanctions
and
is
dedicated
to
remaining
a
large
buyer
of
U.S.
debt.