Why are stablecoin issuers are dominating crypto revenue? this is your answer👇 Tether generated $121.55M in revenue over the last 7 days, while Circle brought in $48.29M. These numbers put both ahead of several major names in crypto. But why are they generating so much? When users buy USDT or USDC, the issuers receive dollars or equivalent assets. They invest much of these reserves in short-term U.S. Treasury bills, repurchase agreements and other income-generating assets. The interest earned becomes their primary revenue source. Here’s why the numbers get so big. - Massive reserves: Tether had approximately $184.6B in issued USDT at the end of Q2 2026, giving it an enormous pool of assets to generate income from. - Interest adds up: Even a 4% annual yield on $100B would generate about $4B in gross income per year, or roughly $77M every week. - The yield keeps coming: These investments generate income continuously, so the revenue accumulates even when trading activity is low. - Tether’s scale matters: USDT has a larger circulation base than USDC, helping explain why Tether generates more reserve income than $CRCL. Circle’s own Q2 2026 results reported $668M in reserve income for the quarter, driven largely by growth in average USDC circulation, despite lower yields. One important detail: DeFiLlama’s figures are based on estimated reserve yields, so the seven-day totals don’t necessarily mean revenue suddenly surged that week. They reflect the income-generating power of these huge reserve portfolios. And revenue isn’t profit. Distribution payments, operating expenses and other costs still have to be covered. The Key Point? Stable coins are more powerful than we think. Tether and Circle don’t need millions of daily trades to generate enormous revenue.