Tether reported a $1.5 billion operating profit for the third quarter, based on its latest reserve attestation prepared by BDO, Cointelegraph reports. At the end of September it held $191.5 billion in assets against $183.5 billion in liabilities, a surplus of $7.95 billion, up from $4.1 billion in June. Direct and indirect US Treasury bill holdings reached $132.4 billion, while bitcoin reserves were valued at $8.37 billion. USDT accounts for about 60% of the stablecoin market.

What it means: The figures show how profitable a large stablecoin issuer's model is when interest rates are high: holders earn no interest while the issuer invests the reserves in government debt. The size of its Treasury bill holdings, comparable to whole countries, now makes Tether a player in the government debt market. At the same time, part of the reserves sits in bitcoin, which is far more volatile than bills, and the BDO attestation is a snapshot rather than a full audit. In Europe, USDT has no MiCA authorisation and licensed providers in the EEA have already restricted it, as seen when Coinbase converted balances into USDC. For Greek businesses that accept or hold stablecoins for cross-border payments, the difference between a compliant and a non-compliant coin has practical weight: it affects which providers can handle it and how easily it converts into euros. Choosing an issuer should take into account both reserve transparency and regulatory status.

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