TETHER AND CIRCLE ARE ‘PRINTING MONEY' BUT COMPETITION IS COMING

Summary from the TLDR Crypto newsletter

Stablecoin giants Tether and Circle are "printing money" by keeping yields from US Treasuries backing their tokens while holders receive no returns, with Tether reporting $4.9 billion in net profit in Q2 and reaching a $500 billion valuation in new funding. New platforms like M^0 and Agora are emerging to address this issue by allowing stablecoin infrastructure to route yield directly to applications or end users rather than issuers capturing all profits, as elevated interest rates create pressure for yield-sharing models. Tether defended its approach by stating USDT serves as "a digital dollar, not an investment product" for hundreds of millions in emerging markets facing dramatic inflation rates of 50-90% annually, arguing that yield-bearing stablecoins target different audiences and carry additional regulatory risks.