Tether Reports Q1 Profit Above $1 Billion, Down From 2024 Amid Bitcoin Yield Decline

Stablecoin giant Tether reported a profit in excess of $1 billion in the first quarter of 2025—a figure that, while substantial, marks a significant downturn from reported profits from Q1 2024. In an attestation released Thursday, the company said it made just north of a billion dollars in profit in the first quarter this year, largely thanks to yields generated by the massive quantity of U.S. Treasuries it holds in reserve. A specific profit figure was not provided in the press release or attached attestation. Decrypt asked a Tether representative for the exact figure, but did not immediately receive a response. Exactly a year ago, Tether reported a record profit of $4.52 billion for Q1 2024. At the time, the company said about a billion dollars of those gains came from its U.S. Treasury portfolio, while the majority stemmed from market-to-market gains in the company's Bitcoin and gold positions. Tether just released the attestation for Q1 2025, the first quarter under the regulatory supervision in El Salvador. Highlights as of 31st March 2025: * 143.6B total issued USDt. * 149.3B total assets/reserves. * 5.6B excess reserves, on top of the 100% reserves in liquid assets... https://t.co/Dqay27kus7 pic.twitter.com/RiOVi31qxs — Paolo Ardoino (@paoloardoino) May 1, 2025 Stablecoins are crypto tokens that are often pegged to the value of fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar, which allow crypto users to enter and exit positions without accessing those currencies directly. Tether’s dollar-pegged USDT token is by far the most used stablecoin in the world, with $148 billion worth of the coin currently in circulation. Stablecoin issuers like Tether ensure their tokens stay equal to the dollar in value by backing them with ample reserves. Currently, the company says 66% of its reserves are held in U.S. Treasuries. Tether says it also holds about 5% of its reserve assets in Bitcoin—about $7.7 billion worth. Over the course of Q1 2024, Bitcoin’s price appreciated by over 64%, leading to a massive, if unrealized profit for the company. But over the same period this year, Bitcoin’s price decreased slightly, by about 12%. That difference likely accounts for why Tether’s Q1 profits look smaller this year. Since the close of Q1, Bitcoin has made that deficit back. The world’s top cryptocurrency is currently hovering around $97,000, up roughly 4% since the start of the year. A company representative did not immediately respond to Decrypt ’s request for comment when asked about the factors that contributed to its declining Q1 figures. Earlier this year, Tether reported a record $13 billion profit for the entirety of 2024—a figure in striking distance of Wall Street titans like Goldman Sachs. The bulk of those profits appear to have come from Bitcoin-related gains. On Thursday, Tether also said it now holds nearly $120 billion in U.S. Treasuries, including indirect exposure to Treasuries from money market funds and reverse repo agreements. Last month, the company’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino, told Decrypt that Tether is currently in conversations with multiple “Big Four” accounting firms about a first-ever comprehensive audit and verification of the scope of the company’s purported reserves. Stablecoin legislation pending before Congress would obligate foreign stablecoin issuers like Tether to undergo scrupulous reserve audits in order to do business in the United States. Ardoino has said his company’s flagship USDT token is unlikely to register under these laws, if they are passed. Tether would instead create a U.S.-specific stablecoin to comply with the nation’s new regulatory regime. Edited by Andrew Hayward