tl;dr
Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan predicts Tether could become the most profitable company in history if emerging markets adopt its USDT token as a primary currency, potentially surpassing Saudi Aramco's $120B 2024 profits through $3T in assets.
**Tether Could Surpass Saudi Aramco as World’s Most Profitable Company, Says Bitwise CIO**
In a bold prediction, Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, has suggested that Tether, the popular stablecoin issuer, could become the most profitable company in history if emerging markets adopt its USDT token as a primary currency. Hougan’s analysis, outlined in a recent blog post by Bitwise, highlights the growing influence of Tether in non-Western economies and the potential for exponential growth if global adoption shifts.
Currently, Tether holds a near-total share of the stablecoin market in many non-Western countries, according to Hougan. He argues that the company is positioning itself to capitalize on a massive opportunity: “There’s a chance that many emerging market countries will convert from primarily using their own currencies to using USDT. If that happens, Tether could end up managing trillions of dollars and capturing all of the interest.”
Hougan’s projection hinges on Tether’s potential to reach $3 trillion in assets, which he claims would surpass the record-breaking $120 billion profit earned by Saudi Aramco in 2024. “At current interest rates, if Tether got to $3 trillion in assets—about 3% of the global money supply—it would top that, becoming the most profitable company in history,” he wrote.
The prediction underscores the unique role Tether plays in the global financial system. Unlike startups like SpaceX or OpenAI, which focus on space exploration and artificial intelligence, Tether operates a digital money market fund, leveraging the stability of the U.S. dollar to facilitate transactions and store value. Its growing dominance in emerging markets—where inflation, currency instability, and limited access to traditional banking often drive demand for alternatives—has positioned it as a critical player in the evolving financial landscape.
Tether’s ambitions are already reflected in its valuation. The company is reportedly seeking a $500 billion valuation, placing it among the most valuable startups globally. While this figure is significantly lower than the valuations of tech giants like SpaceX or OpenAI, Hougan emphasizes the sheer scale of the market Tether targets.
The scenario Hougan outlines would require a seismic shift in how emerging economies manage their finances. If USDT were to replace local currencies in large swaths of the developing world, Tether’s profits could surge, driven by the interest generated on trillions of dollars in assets. However, such a shift would also raise questions about regulatory scrutiny, monetary sovereignty, and the long-term sustainability of stablecoin dominance.
For now, Tether’s potential remains speculative, but Hougan’s analysis highlights the transformative power of digital currencies in reshaping global finance. As adoption grows, the line between traditional finance and crypto may continue to blur, with Tether at the forefront of this evolution.