CoinMeta data: Stablecoin issuers can earn billions of dollars from the assets that support their tokens in a high-interest-rate environment. Stablecoins such as USDT and USDC are designed to maintain a value close to $1, however, changes in interest rates can significantly affect their profitability. Issuers typically invest most of their reserves in short-term U.S. Treasury bonds, repurchase agreements, and bank deposits, which generate interest. Data from Circle shows that the reserves of USDC include short-term Treasury bonds and cash; with $100 billion in reserves and an annual interest rate of 1%, this could generate about $1 billion in annual interest. If the interest rate is 5%, it could reach $5 billion. Although the circulation of USDC is increasing, a decline in interest rates would reduce the profitability per dollar of reserves. Tether follows a similar model, with even larger reserve sizes; in the second quarter of 2026, it reported assets of about $187.8 billion and a quarterly net profit of about $1.5 billion. Small changes in short-term interest rates can have a significant impact on earnings.