Leading stablecoin issuer Tether, the company behind the USDT token, has announced record-breaking profits of $5.2 billion for the first half of 2024 while also revealing a significantly expanded portfolio of U.S. government bonds, now valued at an estimated $97.6 billion.
According to a recent announcement, Tether’s ownership of U.S. Treasuries is now at an all-time high and brings its exposure to Treasuries above that of Germany, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. The surge reflects USDT’s growing popularity.
Tether details that it now ranked 18th in rankings of countries owning U.S. debt, and that it stood only behind the United Kingdom and the Cayman Islands when it came to purchases of 3-month U.S. Treasuries with “potential of becoming 1st in the next year.”
Tether’s financial health is further bolstered by total reserves exceeding $118 billion, according to the company. The announcement adds:
In Q2 2024 the Group Equity increased by $520 million after taking into consideration the drop in BTC prices (accounting for -$653 million of unrealized PnL), partially offset by a positive performance of gold (accounting for a positive $165 million of unrealized PnL).
The announcement also detailed Tether’s consolidated net equity, which stood at $11.9 billion as of June 30. Notably, the company issued around $8.3 billion in USDT during the second quarter, demonstrating the ongoing demand for this stablecoin.
Tether revealed that a portion of its profits has been reinvested in diverse sectors, including sustainable energy, Bitcoin mining, artificial intelligence infrastructure, and cutting-edge fields like neurotechnology and peer-to-peer telecommunications.
On social media Tether’s CEO Paolo Ardoino pointed out that the group now holds around 80,000 Bitcoin worth around $5.1 billion. As CryptoGlobe reported, last year Tether committed to use 15% of its realized net operating profits to invest in the flagship cryptocurrency BTC.
Unlike traditional banks, which operate on a fractional reserve basis, Tether maintains its cryptocurrencies backed by mostly cash and short-term U.S. Treasury bills. At the time of writing, 3-month U.S. Treasurys are yielding around 5.28%. The firm also holds gold.
Featured image via Unsplash.
