Analyst: The disclosed documents do not fully reflect Tether's financial strength, with annual profits reaching as high as $10 billion.

Arthur Hayes expressed concerns about the financial strategy of the stablecoin issuer Tether, pointing out that its large holdings of non-cash assets may threaten the backing of USDT. Tether's latest disclosures show that the company has total assets of $181 billion and liabilities of $174 billion, with approximately $34 billion in the form of Bitcoin, gold, secured loans, and other investments, accounting for about 19% of total assets. Hayes believes that Tether is betting on the Fed cutting interest rates, hedging against the impact of declining rates by purchasing gold and Bitcoin, but this move could exacerbate liquidity risks during large-scale redemptions.

Tether holds a total of $112.42 billion in government bonds, $17.99 billion in overnight reverse repurchase agreements, and $6.41 billion in money market funds. Hayes warned that users and exchanges holding a large amount of USDT will pay attention to the immediate availability of these assets, and media reports may exacerbate market concerns. He questioned the company's explanation that the funds for purchasing Bitcoin and gold come from profits rather than newly issued USDT, pointing out a gap between cash and outstanding liabilities.

In this regard, former Citigroup cryptocurrency analyst Joseph stated that Tether has an independent equity balance sheet, including company investments and mining operations, and the disclosed documents do not fully reflect its financial strength. He calculated that Tether generates about $10 billion in profits annually, mainly from over $120 billion in interest-bearing government bonds, with an annual yield of about 4%. Analyst BitImmortal pointed out that Tether's reserve issue lies in liquidity rather than solvency, as most assets can cover liabilities, but the conversion speed of non-cash assets during redemption peaks remains critical.

Traditional banks hold only 5% to 15% of deposits in cash reserves and can obtain loans from the central bank, while Tether does not have similar “lender of last resort” support. S&P Global previously rated Tether's stability as “weak” due to issues with risk asset allocation, while Tether emphasizes its large settlement fund flow and conservative asset portfolio.

In addition, due to the failure of electricity pricing negotiations in Uruguay, Tether is shutting down local mining projects and plans to lay off about 30 employees. Overall, Tether's financial stability remains controversial, with liquidity management and the ability to convert non-cash assets becoming the focus of market attention.