Tether Generates $6.2 Billion Profit in 2023, Surpassing BlackRock
Tether, one of the major players in the cryptocurrency market, generated a profit of $6.2 billion in 2023, surpassing BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, which recorded $5.5 billion.
This remarkable result is even more impressive considering Tether’s relatively small size. With less than 100 employees in 2023, the company achieved a profit per employee of over $60 million, an unprecedented record.
Despite the ongoing controversy surrounding the transparency of its reserves, Tether continues to dominate the stablecoin market with a market capitalization of $118 billion. This dominance grew in 2023, with Tether’s USDT market capitalization increasing from $83 billion to $118 billion, while its assets under management reached $120 billion.
Diversification and Strategic Investments: Focus on Agriculture
One of the most innovative aspects of Tether’s strategy in recent months has been its expansion into the tokenization of real assets, particularly in the agricultural sector. In August 2024, Tether invested $100 million to acquire nearly 10% of the agricultural conglomerate Adecoagro, listed on the New York Stock Exchange. This Luxembourg-based company owns over 213,000 hectares of agricultural land in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, with diversified activities ranging from rice and grain cultivation to renewable energy production.
This strategic investment allows Tether to establish itself in a sector that has been largely unexplored by cryptocurrency players. Adecoagro also holds a stake in Agrotoken, a pioneering company in the tokenization of agricultural commodities. Through this partnership, three specific grain-based stablecoins—SOYA, CORA, and WHEA—have been created, allowing agricultural producers to use tokens representing their crops for exchanges or commercial transactions.
The Tokenization of Assets: A New Ambition for Tether
I spent my childhood following and "helping" my grandparents and parents around in their farm, growing tomatoes, rosemary, sage, asparagus and the best olive oil you could ever taste.
♥️ so many beautiful memories. https://t.co/CT5eDgtlDx
— Paolo Ardoino 🤖🍐 (@paoloardoino) September 8, 2024
Beyond agriculture, Tether is showing increasing interest in real world assets (RWA). This investment in the tokenization of agricultural land is part of a broader strategy to diversify the company’s sources of income, which now go beyond its main stablecoin activity. Tether has also strengthened its investments in the sustainable Bitcoin sector in Uruguay, cloud computing services with Northern Data, and payment processors.
Tether’s ambition is clear: to become a central player in the tokenization of real assets, including tokens backed by commodities, stocks, or even bonds. According to Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, the company’s tokenization platform, scheduled for the end of 2024, will facilitate the creation and exchange of digital versions of a wide range of assets.
Stablecoins and Gold: Tether at the Forefront of Innovation
Tether has also launched several parallel projects to expand its stablecoin offerings. Among them is XAUT, a stablecoin backed by gold, which is now one of the largest offerings of tokenized gold with a market capitalization of $615 million. The company is also exploring new territory with Alloy, a token creation platform, and a synthetic dollar token backed by gold as collateral.
