Tether Challenges S&P’s Downgrade, Citing Overlooked Assets and Strong Profitability
Quick Breakdown
- Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino says S&P’s downgrade overlooked billions in assets, retained earnings, and strong monthly profits.
- S&P rated USDt’s ability to maintain its dollar peg as “weak,” prompting renewed scrutiny from market observers.
- Analysts are split: Arthur Hayes warns of risks if gold/BTC falls, while Joseph Ayoub insists Tether is deeply profitable and well-collateralized.
Tether CEO rebuts “weak” peg rating
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has dismissed S&P Global’s decision to downgrade USDt’s ability to maintain its US dollar peg, arguing that the ratings agency failed to account for billions in assets and steady revenue streams that reinforce the stablecoin’s backing.
re: Tether FUD
From latest attestation announcement (Q3 2025):
“Tether will continue to maintain a multi-billion-dollar excess reserve buffer and an overall proprietary Group equity approaching $30 billion.”
Tether had (at end of Q3 2025) ~7B in excess equity (on top of the…
— Paolo Ardoino 🤖 (@paoloardoino) November 30, 2025
According to Ardoino, Tether Group closed Q3 2025 with roughly $215 billion in total assets against $184.5 billion in stablecoin liabilities. He said the company held approximately $7 billion in excess equity, in addition to $23 billion in retained earnings, figures he claims S&P ignored.
Ardoino added that Tether generates about $500 million per month in base profits from U.S. Treasury yields alone, strengthening the company’s peg-supporting reserves.
S&P’s downgrade to “weak,” the lowest rating on its scale, has stirred fresh concerns in the crypto industry, especially given Tether’s central role in market liquidity and trading.
Analysts clash over Tether’s financial stability
Arthur Hayes, the founder of BitMEX and a prominent market commentator, suggested that Tether may be accumulating gold and Bitcoin to offset declining revenue amid falling U.S. Treasury yields. While these assets could appreciate as interest rates drop, Hayes warned that a 30% market correction in gold and BTC could erode Tether’s equity and potentially render USDt insolvent “in theory.”
“I’m sure some large holders and exchanges will demand a real-time view of their B/S so they can assess the solvency risk of Tether. Get out your popcorn, I expect the MSM to run wild with this, especially all the editors with TDS who want to shit on Lutnick and Cantor for backing this stablecoin.”
He added.
But Joseph Ayoub, former lead digital asset analyst at Citi, pushed back, saying his extensive research into Tether’s operations contradicts those fears. According to Ayoub, Tether maintains significant unreported excess assets, earns billions in interest income annually, and, by his assessment, is better collateralized than many traditional banks.
Meanwhile, Tether’s launch of the USAT stablecoin marks a turning point in the American decentralized finance (DeFi) scene.
Take control of your crypto portfolio with MARKETS PRO, DeFi Planet’s suite of analytics tools.”
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
You may also like
With capital outflows from crypto ETFs, can issuers like BlackRock still make good profits?
BlackRock's crypto ETF fee revenue has dropped by 38%, and its ETF business is struggling to escape the cyclical curse of the market.

Incubator MEETLabs today launched the large-scale 3D fishing blockchain game "DeFishing". As the first blockchain game on the GamingFi platform, it implements a dual-token P2E system with the IDOL token and the platform token GFT.
MEETLabs is an innovative lab focused on blockchain technology and the cryptocurrency sector, and also serves as the incubator for MEET48.

Electricity theft exceeds $1 billion, Malaysian bitcoin miners face severe crackdown
In Malaysia, the crackdown on illegal bitcoin mining gangs has turned into a game of cat and mouse.

2025 Crypto Prediction Review: 10 Institutions, Who Got It Wrong and Who Became Legends?
We can consider these predictions as indicators of industry sentiment. If you use them as an investment guide, the results could be disastrous.

Trending news
MoreWith capital outflows from crypto ETFs, can issuers like BlackRock still make good profits?
Incubator MEETLabs today launched the large-scale 3D fishing blockchain game "DeFishing". As the first blockchain game on the GamingFi platform, it implements a dual-token P2E system with the IDOL token and the platform token GFT.
