Tether reports $10 bn profit, nears Wall Street giants: Here's what the crypto is all about

Tether, issuer of the largest digital currency 'stablecoin,' has reported a staggering $10 billion profit for the first three quarters of 2025, outpacing Bank of America and closing in on Wall Street powerhouses Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. The milestone puts the world’s largest stablecoin issuer in the same league as some of the most profitable financial institutions in the world.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder of PayTM, hailed the company’s performance on X, writing: “The most profitable fintech in world! Tether reported $10 billion in profit for the first three quarters of 2025—surpassing Bank of America, and nearing Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley’s earnings.”

Tether’s income of $10 billion eclipsed Bank of America’s $8.9 billion profit and nearly doubled that of U.S. Bank, which reported $5.5 billion. The crypto firm’s profits are now within striking distance of Goldman Sachs’ $12.56 billion and Morgan Stanley’s $12.4 billion for the same period. Last year, Tether’s annual profit of $13 billion came within 10% of Goldman’s, and it appears on track to surpass that in 2025.

Despite these record earnings, Tether’s performance still trails far behind banking giant JP Morgan, which reported $44 billion in net income this year. Yet, for a privately held company headquartered in El Salvador, its rise remains extraordinary.

Tether’s profits are largely driven by returns on its vast holdings of U.S. Treasuries, now valued at around $135 billion. This makes the company one of the largest non-sovereign holders of Treasuries worldwide — ahead of countries like Germany, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea.

AI Expansion and U.S. Market Push

In a parallel development, Tether Data, the company’s technology arm, has entered the artificial intelligence sector with the launch of QVAC Genesis I, a 41-billion-token dataset designed for science and engineering-focused AI models. Alongside it, Tether introduced QVAC Workbench, a local AI application capable of running models directly on consumer devices — a move it says challenges the dominance of big tech firms in the AI space.

What Tether Is and How It Works

Tether (USDT) is a digital currency known as a “stablecoin,” designed to maintain a one-to-one value with the U.S. dollar. As of July 2025, it held a market capitalisation of $157.74 billion, making it the largest stablecoin in circulation.

Unlike traditional cryptocurrencies that fluctuate in value, stablecoins like Tether are pegged to fiat currencies, offering traders and investors a more stable store of value. Tether tokens were first launched in 2014 on the Bitcoin blockchain, but now operate across multiple networks, including Ethereum, Tron, Solana, Polygon, and Avalanche.

Beyond the dollar, Tether also issues tokens pegged to the euro, Chinese yuan (CNH), Mexican peso, and even gold. Its tokens are widely used in crypto trading, cross-border remittances, and as a hedge against market volatility.

Tether also plays a central role in the decentralised finance (DeFi) ecosystem, serving as a bridge for trading between cryptocurrencies, lending NFTs, and participating in Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). Users can earn interest by lending Tether on crypto lending platforms or use it for frictionless conversion between Bitcoin and other currencies.

(Inputs from various agencies)