Tether CTO Rebuts S&P's $30B Equity Oversight

Crypto News Altcoins

Tether CTO Fights Back: S&P Global Missed $30B In Equity and Earnings

Written by Aaron S.,

Editor-In-Chief

Last Updated: December 01, 2025

Key Takeaways

S&P Global downgraded USDT’s dollar peg to "weak" by citing Tether’s Bitcoin and gold reserves as potential stability risks;
Tether’s Q3 2025 report showed $215 billion in assets and $184.5 billion in liabilities, with $7 billion equity and $23 billion retained earnings;
Paolo Ardoino argued S&P ignored Tether’s $500 million monthly Treasury income, while Arthur Hayes warned a 30% asset drop could erase equity.

Stop overpaying - start transferring money with Ogvio. Join the waitlist & grab early Rewards NOW! 🎁

Tether CTO Fights Back: S&P Global Missed $30B In Equity and Earnings

BITDEGREE IN YOUR SOCIAL FEED

The rating agency S&P Global changed USDT's USDT $1.00 peg to the US dollar to a "weak" rating on November 29.

This adjustment raised questions about Tether's approach to reserves.

The agency referenced Tether's portfolio, which holds assets such as Bitcoin BTC $86,747.50 and gold, as a potential weakness in maintaining the $1 peg.

NEAR Protocol Explained: Beginner's Guide to NEAR (Animated)

Did you know?

Want to get smarter & wealthier with crypto?

Subscribe - We publish new crypto explainer videos every week!

Paolo Ardoino, Tether's Chief Technology Officer, pointed to Tether's third-quarter 2025 attestation, which showed total group assets near $215 billion by the close of Q3 2025, with stablecoin liabilities of about $184.5 billion.

The attestation also reported around $7 billion in additional group equity and about $23 billion in retained earnings at that time.

Tether's CTO stated that S&P Global's score did not factor in excess group equity or Tether's ongoing income from US Treasury interest, estimated at nearly $500 million per month. Ardoino felt the rating did not provide a full picture since it excluded these sources of strength for the business.

Arthur Hayes, founder of BitMEX $330.75K , shared his view that Tether might be increasing its gold and Bitcoin holdings to offset shrinking returns from US Treasuries.

Hayes explained that if the value of these assets dropped by about 30%, it could wipe out Tether's equity and, in theory, push USDT into insolvency.

Recently, Tether announced that its user base has reached 500 million individuals worldwide. What did the Ardoino say? Read the full story.