Key highlights:
- S&P downgrades USDT to its weakest score, sparking fresh market questions.
- Tether says billions in excess capital were ignored by analysts.
- Experts clash over whether Bitcoin and gold reserves pose real risk.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has pushed back against S&P Global after the ratings agency downgraded USDT’s ability to maintain its dollar peg to its lowest tier, calling it “weak.” Ardoino accused analysts of spreading unfounded negative speculation about the world’s largest stablecoin.
re: Tether FUD
From latest attestation announcement (Q3 2025):
“Tether will continue to maintain a multi-billion-dollar excess reserve buffer and an overall proprietary Group equity approaching $30 billion.”
Tether had (at end of Q3 2025) ~7B in excess equity (on top of the…
— Paolo Ardoino 🤖 (@paoloardoino) November 30, 2025
Ardoino argued that S&P ignored Tether Group’s significant asset base and profitability. According to him, Tether’s total assets at the end of Q3 2025 stood at $215 billion, while its stablecoin liabilities were $184.5 billion.
He pointed to the company’s quarterly certification report, which showed approximately $7 billion in excess capital and $23 billion in retained earnings.
He added that the agency failed to account for roughly $500 million in monthly profits generated from U.S. Treasury holdings, which is revenue that, he says, strengthens the stablecoin’s resilience far beyond S&P’s assessment.
S&P Global downgraded USDT on November 26, citing concerns over Tether’s exposure to Bitcoin and gold reserves. The move stirred new waves of uncertainty around a company widely considered essential to the crypto market’s day-to-day liquidity.
Analysts clash over Tether’s risk profile
Market commentator and BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes suggested that Tether has been buying significant amounts of Bitcoin and gold to compensate for declining income from Treasury yields. He warned that a 30% drop in those assets could theoretically wipe out Tether’s capital buffer.
The Tether folks are in the early innings of running a massive interest rate trade. How I read this audit is they think the Fed will cut rates which crushes their interest income. In response, they are buying gold and $BTC that should in theory moon as the price of money falls.… pic.twitter.com/ZGhQRP4SVF
— Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) November 29, 2025
However, former Citi lead digital-asset analyst Joseph Ayoub rejected Hayes’ claims. He said he spent “hundreds of hours” analyzing Tether and believes the company holds additional unreported assets, operates one of the most profitable structures in finance, and is in a stronger position than many traditional banks
Source:: Tether Pushes Back After S&P Downgrades USDT Peg Strength