What Did Tether Report in Its Latest Attestation?
Tether said it generated more than $10 billion in net profit in 2025, according to its latest annual attestation prepared by accounting firm BDO. While the figure represents a decline from the more than $13 billion reported in 2024, it still places the stablecoin issuer among the most profitable privately held firms operating in digital assets.
The report also showed that 2025 marked Tether’s second-largest year of issuance on record. More than $50 billion of new USDT was added to circulation over the 12-month period, pushing total supply to an all-time high above $186 billion.
Tether said its performance was driven by reserve management centered on highly liquid assets, particularly U.S. Treasuries. “Through disciplined reserve management and strategic deployments across U.S. Treasuries, digital assets and proprietary investment entities, Tether sustained this performance while driving growth across its digital dollar ecosystem,” the company wrote in the report.
Investor Takeaway
USDT issuance continues to expand even as profits ease from record highs, reinforcing Tether’s role as a core liquidity provider across crypto markets.
How Are USDT Reserves Structured?
As of the end of 2025, Tether reported $193 billion in total assets backing $186 billion USDT in circulation, leaving $6.3 billion in excess reserves. The bulk of those assets sits in U.S. government debt, with direct Treasury holdings climbing above $122 billion during the year.
The company said this level represents its highest exposure to Treasurys to date, reflecting a continued preference for short-duration, liquid instruments. The scale of those holdings places Tether among the largest holders of U.S. government debt globally, despite operating outside the traditional banking system.
Beyond Treasurys, reserves also include gold and other assets. Tether disclosed that it holds roughly 140 metric tons of gold overall, with part of that allocation backing its gold-pegged stablecoin XAUT. As of September 2025, the firm reported around $12 billion in gold exposure tied to its reserve strategy.
Why USDT Demand Continued to Grow
Tether said demand for USDT continued to rise in 2025 as users sought dollar exposure outside conventional financial rails. The company issued $50 billion in new USDT during the year, a pace matched only once before in its history.
Chief executive Paolo Ardoino attributed that growth to conditions in markets where access to dollars through banks remains limited. He said USDT adoption has been strongest “particularly in regions where financial systems are slow, fragmented, or inaccessible,” adding that the stablecoin has “become the most widely adopted monetary social network in the history of humanity.”
USDT now ranks as the third-largest cryptocurrency by market value, behind bitcoin and ether, with a capitalization of roughly $185 billion. Its scale means changes in supply, reserves, or profitability are closely watched by exchanges, traders, and institutions that rely on the token for settlement, collateral, and liquidity.
Investor Takeaway
Stablecoin growth remains tied to demand for dollar liquidity outside banking systems, making USDT issuance a proxy for stress or friction in traditional finance.
Gold, Side Businesses, and a US Expansion
Alongside its core stablecoin business, Tether has continued to expand into other sectors. The company holds gold both as a reserve asset and as backing for XAUT, which allows token holders to redeem for physical delivery. According to the firm, the gold backing each XAUT token is held separately from its broader gold reserves.
“Tether maintains approximately 130 metric tons of physical gold, and the gold backing every XAUT token is held separately, making it eligible for physical delivery redemption,” a company spokesperson said in a recent statement.
Tether has also invested in bitcoin mining, peer-to-peer communication platforms, and decentralized AI-related projects over recent years. In 2025, it launched a U.S.-based subsidiary and rolled out USAT, a dollar-pegged stablecoin branded as “Made in America,” marking a more direct push into the U.S. market.
What the Numbers Say About Market Confidence
Although profits declined from 2024 levels, Tether’s balance sheet expanded substantially in 2025, with total assets rising by more than $49 billion year on year. The growth in reserves alongside continued issuance suggests that confidence in USDT has remained intact despite tighter scrutiny of stablecoins globally.
