Circle vs. Tether: What's in the reserves?
Circle’s USDC and Tether’s USDT are the two largest stablecoins in the world, with a combined market capitalization of over $210 billion. However, the two tokens vary significantly in size, with USDT making up approximately $150 billion of that total. From this dominant position, Tether has been able to grow to achieve truly incredible profits, reporting that it earned $13 billion in 2024. This is compared to a mere $156 million for Circle. A portion of this difference comes down to the differences in reserves for the tokens . Read more: Why is Tether 213% bigger than Circle but 8,000% more profitable? For example, Circle maintains far more cash available than Tether — approximately $5.8 billion compared to Tether’s $64 million. This suggests that Tether has access to credit to manage redemptions. Tether is also willing to include certain types of investment in its reserves that Circle avoids, including: Secured loans Corpo...