Tether generates a record $5.2 billion profit in first half of the year

Leading stablecoin firm Tether released its latest quarterly attestation Wednesday, reporting a record net profit of $5.2 billion for the first half of 2024.

The company also reached a net operating profit of $1.3 billion in the second quarter, largely due to its yield-bearing investments and reserves, according to its press release. The attestation was conducted by BDO, a global independent accounting firm.

Tether issues the largest stablecoin, USDT, which has a market capitalization of nearly $115 billion. The firm has benefited from the post-COVID inflationary environment and subsequent raised interest rates meant to tamp down an overheated economy.

“Tether Group continues to demonstrate its financial strengths thanks to a strong and persistent revenue base from traditional asset-class investments (mainly U.S. Treasuries),” the firm wrote in a statement.

Tether has been reinvesting its profits in a number of efforts including decentralized AI, Bitcoin mining and a peer-to-peer messaging platform called Keet. It has seen growing profits every year since at least 2022.

USDT, a stablecoin said to be backed 1:1 by U.S. dollars or dollar equivalents, has drawn controversy as there has never been an official audit of its reserves. In February 2021, the New York Attorney General ordered the firm to post quarterly attestation and pay an $18.5 million settlement for lying about the stablecoin’s backing for several years.