The digital asset market is often clouded by a fundamental misunderstanding of the products we use daily. Recently, during a discussion on an X Space hosted by members of a Chinese crypto community, a guest speaker passionately argued that Tether (CRYPTO: USDT) holders are entitled to a share of the interest generated by Tether Limited’s massive reserves. This sentiment is growing, fueled by a desire for passive income in a volatile market. However, this perspective represents a dangerous conflation of financial concepts. We must be clear: 1 USDT is equivalent to $1 USD in terms of purchasing power within the ecosystem, but it is fundamentally not the same as holding a US dollar in a savings account or a Treasury Bill. To demand a direct share of Tether’s corporate interest is to fundamentally misunderstand the architecture of stablecoins and the laws that govern them.
When you exchange your fiat currency for USDT, you are not making a deposit into a bank; you are purchasing a product. Tether Limited operates as a private entity that issues a digital token backed by a basket of assets. The primary value proposition of USDT is liquidity and stability, the ability to move value across borders and between exchanges at the speed of the blockchain. Forgoing your fiat in exchange for USDT is a voluntary trade-off. You give up the sovereign protections and the interest-bearing potential of the traditional banking system in exchange for the utility of a digital asset. To expect the issuer to then hand back its corporate profits is akin to asking a privately owned bank to distribute its quarterly earnings directly to every person holding its banknotes. It is a logical fallacy that ignores the operational costs and risks assumed by the issuer.
The data regarding Tether’s revenue generation is transparent, yet often misinterpreted. As of 2026, Tether continues to manage one of the world’s largest reserve portfolios. The majority of these reserves, roughly 74% to 77%, are held in U.S. Treasury Bills. The remaining assets are diversified across Reverse Repurchase Agreements (11-12%), secured loans (8%), and strategic holdings in precious metals and Bitcoin (12-14%). Tether has become one of the largest global holders of U.S. debt. The interest generated from these …