Tether records surprise profit as stablecoin giant aims to put reserve controversy behind it
Tether previously claimed its stablecoin was backed 1-to-1 by U.S. dollars.
Justin Tallis | Afp | Getty Images
Tether on Thursday published its latest quarterly financials, with the world’s top stablecoin issuer stating publicly for the first time that it generated a profit.
Tether, which is owned by Hong Kong-headquarter Ifinex, said in a new attestation report that it made a $700 million “net profit” in the December quarter. The company says it has added the money to its reserves.
Tether said its latest quarterly results were buoyed by interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve, which have resulted in higher yields on government debt. “Tether is not disclosing any financial information other than those reported in the CRR [Consolidated Reserves Report],” Tether told CNBC in emailed comments.
Tether makes money from various fees, including a $1,000 withdrawal fee (with a minimum withdrawal requirement of $100,000), as well as investments in digital tokens and precious metals as well as issuing loans to other institutions.
Tether is the issuer of USDT, the world’s largest stablecoin by market capitalization. Stablecoins are tokens that are meant to always be fully backed by an equivalent value of reserve assets.
The idea is that, when someone wants to sell one unit of tether, they get $1 dollar in return.
But Tether has long been dogged by concerns that its token isn’t completely backed one-to-one by an equivalent value of reserves.
Last May, USDT temporarily lost its peg when terraUSD, a so-called algorithmic stablecoin, plummeted to near $0.
Tether said this was the result of volatility in the trading of USDT rather than a reflection of its ability to return cash to holders.
Of particular concern, however, was the quality of Tether’s reserves. The firm previously held a large portion of its assets in commercial paper, a form of unsecured, short-term corporate debt.
That led to fears that widespread investor redemptions would lead to a liquidity crisis.
Tether has since said it erased commercial paper holdings from its balance sheet entirely, replacing them with U.S. Treasury bills instead.
On Thursday, Tether said it had again boosted its U.S. government debt holdings so that now more than 58% of its assets consist of Treasury bills.
Tether said it reduced secured loans on its balance sheet by $300 million. In the September-December period, the company had $67 billion in assets against $66 billion of liabilities.
Despite the turbulence of the last year, Tether’s USDT token has endured, maintaining its $1 value after seeing over $15 billion wiped off its overall market capitalization since early May.
“After a tumultuous end to 2022, Tether has once again proven its stability, its resilience and its ability to handle bear markets and black swan events, setting itself apart from the bad actors of the industry,” Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s chief technology officer, said in a statement Thursday.
Still, the token and its issuer remain a source of contention in the crypto market. The U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly investigating executives at Tether over possible bank fraud.
In October, Bloomberg reported the Justice Department had appointed a new team after months of delays aimed at determining whether company officials committed a crime.
Stablecoin firms like Tether and Circle have long faced questions over their ability to become sustainable businesses. In December, Circle shelved plans to list publicly via a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC.
WATCH: Bitcoin at $10,000 — or $250,000? Investors are sharply divided on 2023
George Kurtz, chief executive officer of Crowdstrike Inc., speaks during the Montgomery Summit in Santa Monica, California, U.S., on Wednesday, March 4, 2020.
Patrick T. Fallon | Bloomberg | Getty Images
CrowdStrike shares fell 7% in extended trading on Tuesday after the security software maker issued a weaker-than-expected revenue forecast.
Here’s how the company did against LSEG consensus:
- Earnings per share: 73 cents, adjusted vs. 65 cents expected
- Revenue: $1.10 billion vs. $1.10 billion expected
Revenue increased by nearly 20% in the fiscal first quarter, which ended on April 30, according to a statement. The company registered a net loss of $110.2 million, or 44 cents per share, compared with net income of $42.8 million, or 17 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.
Costs rose in sales and marketing as well as in research and development and administration, partly because of a broad software outage last summer.
For the current quarter, CrowdStrike called for 82 cents to 84 cents in adjusted earnings per share on $1.14 billion to $1.15 million in revenue. Analysts polled by LSEG were expecting 81 cents per share and $1.16 billion in revenue.
CrowdStrike bumped up its guidance for full-year earnings but maintained its expectation for revenue. The company now sees $3.44 to $3.56 in adjusted earnings per share, with $4.74 billion to $4.81 billion in revenue. The LSEG consensus was $3.43 per share and $4.77 billion in revenue. The earnings guidance provided in March was $3.33 to $3.45 in adjusted earnings per share.
Also on Tuesday, CrowdStrike said it had earmarked $1 billion for share buybacks.
“Today’s announced share repurchase reflects our confidence in CrowdStrike’s future and unwavering mission of stopping breaches,” CEO George Kurtz said in the statement.
As of Tuesday’s close, the stock was up 43% so far in 2025, while the S&P 500 index had gained less than 2%.
Executives will discuss the results on a conference call with analysts starting at 5 p.m. ET.
WATCH: Trade Tracker: Malcolm Ethridge buys more CrowdStrike, Palo Alto Networks, Spotify and Oracle
An attendee wearing a cow costume while playing Mario Kart World by Nintendo Switch 2 during the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience at the Excel London international exhibition and convention centre in London on April 11, 2025.
Isabel Infantes | Reuters
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Tuesday talked up the capabilities of Nintendo‘s new Switch 2, days before the long-awaited console is set to hit store shelves.
In a video posted by Nintendo, Huang called the chip inside the Switch 2 “unlike anything we’ve built before.”
“It brings together three breakthroughs: The most advanced graphics ever in a mobile device, full hardware ray tracing, high dynamic range for brighter highlights and deeper shadows, and an architecture that supports backward compatibility,” Huang said.
He added that the console has dedicated artificial intelligence processors to “sharpen, animate and enhance gameplay in real time.”
Huang’s comments come as Nintendo prepares to release the Switch 2 on Thursday. The Switch 2 is Nintendo’s first new console in eight years, and it is expected to be a bigger and faster version of its predecessor. The device costs $449.99.
Huang also paid tribute to the vision of former Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata, who died before the original Switch was released.
“Switch 2 is more than a new console,” Huang said. “It’s a new chapter worthy of Iwata Son’s vision.”
WATCH: Nintendo expects to sell 15 million units of the Switch 2
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