News
Implications of Tether’s Record Profits for the Cryptocurrency Market
Tether continues to lead the stablecoin sector, with far-reaching implications for cryptoassets
AFP via Getty Images
Like Tether
Bind
continues to dominate the stablecoin market and has earned a record profit of $4.52 billion in the first quarter of 2024, it seems like a good time to take a look at just how important this single stablecoin is and the implications these findings will have for cryptoassets in general. These findings are particularly worthy of analysis and examination as the stablecoin space remains under regulatory scrutiny in the United States and other markets. Additionally there are some market trends and volumes that seem contradictory, and when that happens, it makes sense to dig deeper into those numbers to gather what information you can extract.
Widely considered one of the most opaque stablecoins, despite getting a leadership position on the market Through various market cycles, Tether and USDT have regularly found themselves in the proverbial hot seat. These investigations have taken the form of court cases, multimillion-dollar legal settlements, and the need to hire a new (and more widely known) accounting firm; the road to these record profits has not been universally smooth. Putting these headlines aside, which are certainly noteworthy, there are many other trends and themes that cryptocurrency investors and supporters should look forward to.
Tether has an interesting mix of profits
One of the biggest drivers of Tether’s record profits, $3.52 billion to be more precise, comes from gains in both Bitcoin and holdings. Although the 2024 bull market appeared to lose some steam following the long-awaited halving event, bitcoin still only achieved above-average returns in 2024. Even gold holdings, with longtime gold bugs like Peter Schiff who continue to publicly disparage cryptocurrencies and predict an imminent collapse to $0, have benefited Tether by driving its spectacular profit performance. These gains are even more interesting considering that bitcoin continues to be treated as an asset rather than a medium of exchange, but by incorporating bitcoin into reserve assets, the world’s largest stablecoin continues to benefit.
Also noteworthy is the billion dollars generated by Tether from operating profits deriving from US Treasury holdings. In an interesting development, it would appear that higher rates for a longer period continue to favor some aspects of the cryptocurrency sector – namely stablecoins – even as non-dollar-denominated cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin have experienced headwinds.
Stablecoin competition is increasing
It is true that USDT is the long-time leader of the stablecoin industry and record profits achieved in the first quarter of 2024 do little to alter this position, but the reality is more nuanced than the headlines might imply. While USDT continues to dominate centralized exchanges, with a stablecoin share of 69% on centralized exchanges according to research by DeFiLLamathis dominance is not reflected in transaction volume.
USDC
USDC
the stablecoin issued and managed by Circle, represented beyond 50% of all stablecoins transactions in 2024 and has far outperformed the USDT when transaction volume is measured on a weekly or monthly basis. Although it ranks far behind USDT in terms of market capitalization and currently issued tokens, there are several reasons for this recovery and USDC’s overtaking of USDT.
First, Circle and USDC are recovering from a reputational and operational hit following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Second, although Tether has recently improved the quality and consistency of attestation reports, Circle remains widely considered the most stable and transparent stablecoin. Finally, the April 2024 announcement that Stripe would reintroduce crypto payments, specifically using USDC, helped bolster this stablecoin’s appeal for transactional use.
Stablecoin legislation will be key
One of the most important implications of the continued growth and profitability of stablecoins is the importance that should be placed on stablecoin legislation. With the most recent legislation that has been advanced receiving notable pushback and criticizes that the United States appears to remain in the quagmire of inconsistent regulation that has stalled the development of cryptocurrencies since Bitcoin reached mainstream awareness in 2017.
With the odds of substantive legislation diminishing as the 2024 presidential election looms ever closer, the likelihood of the United States achieving clarity and comparability for stablecoin issuers continues to decline. Legislation and regulation are not a panacea for the ills of the cryptocurrency market, but they could go a long way toward improving the operating environment for stablecoin issuances and institutions seeking to use these instruments.
Stablecoins continue to make their way into the market, some are making record profits, and this subset of cryptocurrencies is in desperate need of clear and concise information to continue its productive and profitable growth.