According to DefiLlama statistics, USDT issuer Tether has generated cumulative fee revenue of $20.55 billion, with about $117 million coming in over the past week.
The source of this revenue differs from that of trading businesses. It comes mainly from returns on reserve assets themselves, with interest-bearing assets such as U.S. Treasuries accounting for the bulk of it. On-chain transfers make up only a small portion.
This creates a contrast. When markets are highly volatile, revenue from trading businesses rises and falls with trading volume, while the revenue curve for this type of business is almost flat. On-chain settlements continue as usual over the weekend, and the issuer’s earnings continue to accumulate as usual.
One business lives off trading volume; the other, off its balance sheet. In this sharp downturn, the difference between the two business models has become much more pronounced.</content>
The source of this revenue differs from that of trading businesses. It comes mainly from returns on reserve assets themselves, with interest-bearing assets such as U.S. Treasuries accounting for the bulk of it. On-chain transfers make up only a small portion.
This creates a contrast. When markets are highly volatile, revenue from trading businesses rises and falls with trading volume, while the revenue curve for this type of business is almost flat. On-chain settlements continue as usual over the weekend, and the issuer’s earnings continue to accumulate as usual.
One business lives off trading volume; the other, off its balance sheet. In this sharp downturn, the difference between the two business models has become much more pronounced.</content>
