Tether, the USDT issuer, recently announced that it has invested $200 million in Blackrock Neurotech, a biotech company. After recording over $6 billion in profits by 2023, Tether is looking to diversify its activities and utilize the large amount of cash it holds.
Tether records over $6 billion in profits in 2023
The issuance of stablecoins is reputed to be a highly lucrative business, enabling its issuers not only to collect transaction fees from their customers, but also to use the dollars backing the digital asset to generate additional revenue.
Tether, for example, the company that issues USDT, the 1st stablecoin on the market with a capitalization of over $110 billion, holds around 67% of its reserves in US Treasuries, which currently offer an annual yield of 4.93%.
In addition, the company recently announced net earnings of $6.2 billion for the year 2023, of which $4 billion came from profits generated by U.S. bonds.
There has always been a degree of opacity regarding Tether’s use of profits, but in recent years the company has sought to increase its transparency, notably by making public the composition of its reserves.
Tether diversifies its investments
For several years, Tether has been investing in various events and conferences related to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, as well as in educational projects, such as PlanB Network.
Recently, Tether announced that it has purchased a significant stake in Blackrock Neurotech, a biotech company, for $200 million through its venture capital subsidiary, Tether Evo.
Today Tether takes the majority stake in @BlackrockNeuro_ and unveils the ultimate pillar of its long term vision and strategy: Tether Evo
First of all, this investment (same as energy, mining, …) is done outside of stablecoin reserves, with our own company profits (last… https://t.co/aeDWK97mq1
– Paolo Ardoino (@paoloardoino) April 29, 2024
On this occasion, Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, spoke on the subject:
“We believe in giving back, investing in technologies that improve people’s lives. We proved our ethics with USDT for finance. We aim to repeat that with our support for P2P technology for telecommunications and AI infrastructure. Tether Evo is the natural next step: focusing on people. We like to build an open infrastructure.
We want to help the millions of people around the world affected by paralysis, loss of function and neurological disorders that prevent them from walking, seeing, hearing, feeling or speaking.”
Paolo Ardoino was keen to point out that this investment was made outside of their stablecoin reserves, and that their collaboration with Blackrock Neurotech will take place over the long term, progressing “step by step. “
Although their names are similar, Blackrock Neurotech is not affiliated with asset manager BlackRock. This company specializes in the development of medical technologies that harness brain signals to assist people affected by paralysis and other neurological disorders.
Blackrock Neurotech’s implants enable rapid conversion of thoughts into text, facilitating direct interaction with computers. What’s more, these implants also offer the ability to control robotic limbs and restore sensations.
