Original｜Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)
In early February 2025, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino published the "Tether Q4 2024 Asset Proof," mentioning: "Tether's total profit for 2024 reached $13.7 billion; the profit for Q4 2024 was $6 billion." This news sparked heated discussions in the market. As the current leader in the stablecoin market, many are aware of Tether's strong money-making ability, but an annual profit of nearly $14 billion is still astonishing. Meanwhile, according to Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan, the Tether team consists of only 165 people, achieving an incredible efficiency of $83.03 million per person, far exceeding investment giant Goldman Sachs (which has about 45,000 employees and an annual profit of about $14 billion in 2024). It must be said that compared to traditional industries, the efficiency of top companies in the cryptocurrency sector is exceptionally impressive.
In light of this, Odaily Planet Daily will briefly review several crypto money-making machines in this article for readers' reference. (Note: Due to the high personnel mobility in the crypto industry and varying statistical standards, the following data is only a partial statistic and is for reference only.)
Overview of 7 Major Crypto Money-Making Machines: Tether Undoubtedly, Coinbase Makes the List
List of Crypto Money-Making Machines
1. Tether (USDT Issuer): $13.7 Billion Profit, Team of Less Than 200
The world's largest stablecoin issuer, USDT, dominates the stablecoin market by backing the token's value with assets like U.S. Treasury bonds, with over 400 million users.
2024 Profit: $13.7 billion.
Employee Count: 165;
Efficiency: Approximately $83.03 million per person.
2. pump.fun: 2024 Revenue Exceeds $300 Million
As the most prominent meme coin launch platform in this cycle, pump.fun is also one of the most profitable crypto machines. According to on-chain analysts monitoring, pump.fun generated approximately 1.703 million SOL from its launch until the end of 2024, totaling about $337 million based on an average price of $198.
Additionally, according to Qiao, the founder of Alliance DAO, the investor behind pump.fun, the initial team consisted of only 3 people, which gradually expanded to a dozen, and we calculate using a median of 15 people.
2024 Profit: $337 million;
Employee Count: 15;
Efficiency: $22.48 million per person.
3. Binance: User Count Exceeds 250 Million, Employee Count Over 5,000
The world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, with user numbers surpassing 250 million and total trading volume in spot and derivatives exceeding $100 trillion.
2024 Profit: Not directly disclosed; previously sold $4 billion in operating assets based on accounting processes, with community reports estimating a net profit of about $6-7 billion for 2024, we take the midpoint of $5 billion for calculation.
Employee Count: Over 5,000 (as revealed by He Yi in a post).
Efficiency: $1 million per person.
4. Coinbase: Annual Net Profit of $2.6 Billion, Team of Over 3,700
Founded in 2012, it is a leading cryptocurrency trading platform in the United States.
On April 14, 2021, Coinbase successfully went public on NASDAQ, becoming the first publicly traded cryptocurrency exchange in the world. According to Coinbase's 2024 Q4 financial report, the company generated $954 million in revenue in the last quarter, achieving quarterly profitability for the first time in two years. By the end of 2024, Coinbase had 3,772 full-time employees, a year-on-year increase of 10%.
2024 Profit: $2.6 billion;
Employee Count: 3,772;
Efficiency: $689,000 per person.
5. Circle (USDC Issuer): Annual Profit Not Disclosed, Total Employee Count Under 1,000
The issuer of the world's second-largest stablecoin, USDC, focusing on compliance and institutional partnerships.
According to previous official news, USDC's circulation in 2024 exceeded $45 billion, a year-on-year increase of 78%, with over $18 trillion in USDC transactions to date; the user count has surpassed 500 million.
2024 Profit: Not directly disclosed; December 2024 monthly revenue was $132.77 million. Previous reports indicated that Circle's total revenue for 2022 was $150 million, and the EBITDA for the first half of 2023 was $219 million, speculating that the 2024 profit is at least over $500 million.
Employee Count: As of June 2024, Bloomberg reported that the total employee count was about 915.
Efficiency: $546,000 per person.
6. Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy): Net Profit Under $500 Million, Team Size Over 1,500
Previously, according to The Block news, Strategy (MicroStrategy) increased its Bitcoin holdings nearly twofold in Q4 2024, with quarterly operating expenses reaching $1.103 billion, a year-on-year increase of 693%, resulting in a net loss of $670.8 million, with total revenue of $120.7 million, about $3 million lower than general expectations, down 3% from last year.
2024 Profit: $464 million (down 7% from 2023);
Employee Count: 1,534;
Efficiency: $302,000 per person.
7. Kraken: 2024 Profit Approximately $380 Million, Employee Count About 2,500
An established American exchange. On January 31, the company's financial report indicated that its 2024 revenue was $1.5 billion, with CEO Dave Ripley stating that Kraken's 2024 revenue was more than double that of 2023; adjusted pre-tax profit reached $380 million. According to news from last October, Kraken laid off 15% of its workforce, affecting about 400 positions; according to official Kraken channels, its employee count is around 2,500.
2024 Profit: $380 million;
Employee Count: 2,500;
Efficiency: $152,000 per person.
Summary: Stablecoins and Exchanges are the Best Businesses, Transaction Fees are Key
In summary, stablecoins and exchanges are the "best businesses" in the cryptocurrency industry, not only valuable but also profitable. pump.fun primarily profits from the meme coin craze, while the unbreakable truth in the cryptocurrency industry remains: businesses that cannot charge transaction fees are not good businesses.
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