Tether responds to S&P credit rating downgrade... "Assets and income were not properly reflected."

Source: TokenPost Original Title: Tether, resisting S&P credit rating downgrade… “Assets and income were not properly reflected” Original Link: https://www.tokenpost.kr/news/cryptocurrency/309759 The CEO of Tether has responded to S&P's downgrade of Tether's credit rating by pointing out asset excess and revenue omissions. The market continues to raise questions about the transparency of external audits and the stability of the portfolio.

Paolo Ardoino, the CEO of Tether, and market analysts immediately opposed the downgrade of Tether's credit rating by S&P Global, which undervalued the stability of its US dollar peg. Ardoino criticized S&P for not reflecting all of the assets and revenues held by Tether.

According to the audit report for the third quarter of 2025 released by Tether, the total assets of the Tether Group amount to approximately $215 billion, while the total stablecoin liabilities are about $184.5 billion. This means that the assets are approximately $30.5 billion more than the liabilities. Ardoino stated that about $7 billion of this exists as excess capital outside of the stablecoin reserves, and additionally, approximately $23 billion in retained earnings has been included in the Tether Group's capital.

He went on to say, “S&P did not take into account the additional capital held by the Tether group or the approximately $500 million in revenue generated solely from U.S. Treasury yields each month,” pointing out that there were serious omissions in the credit rating assessment process.

This rebuttal highlights the differences in stance between Tether, the world's largest stablecoin issuer, and traditional credit rating agencies. Despite Tether's claims emphasizing asset transparency and profit structure, the market continues to raise questions regarding the external audit and the stability of a bond-centric portfolio.

Market Interpretation

The downgrade by S&P is interpreted as a risk assessment from a traditional financial perspective. In response, Tether emphasizes its stability by highlighting its own profitability and surplus capital, but the transparency of its accounting and the presence of independent audits remain key points of contention.

Strategic Point

As the stablecoin market comes closer to institutionalization, coordination with external credit assessments becomes inevitable. If Tether's asset structure and revenue model remain stable, short-term shocks may be limited.

Terminology Organization

Stablecoin: A cryptocurrency designed to be pegged to the value of fiat currency. Tether(USDT) is fixed to the US dollar.

Debt to assets: A key indicator for assessing the liquidity stability of financial institutions, the more assets there are, the more stable.