Charted: Tether's dominance
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As tether, the stablecoin, charts ever-greater all-time highs in market capitalization, the company behind it, Tether, released its attestation for the second quarter.
Why it matters: Tether is the third-largest cryptocurrency in the world and the liquidity lifeblood of the whole global industry.
How it works: Tether (USDT) is a stablecoin. The company behind it issues tokens guaranteed to be backed dollar for dollar by its reserves, which are U.S. Treasuries, dollars and some other assets.
The latest: Tether's latest report shows that it has $118.4 billion in reserves, $5.3 billion greater than its liabilities related to digital tokens.
- About $25 billion of its reserves are somewhat more exotic, with holdings of things like money market funds, corporate bonds, bitcoin, gold and secured loans.
The intrigue: The company's latest report touts that it has become one of the largest buyers of U.S. Treasuries on Earth, greater than many nations.
- If it were a country, it said, it would be the 18th-largest holder of U.S. debt among nations.
By the numbers: Tether reported $1.3 billion in profit in the second quarter and $5.2 billion for the first half of the year.
The bottom line: Stablecoins are probably the strongest application deployed by the blockchain industry to date, and tether represents 70% of the stablecoin market.
