BitMine’s Tom Lee Says Tether Is A ‘Better Bank’ Than Most Banks

• Tom Lee framed Tether’s USDT business as bank-like, citing profits and scale versus major banks.
• The comments land as the Senate’s CLARITY Act process slips, with stablecoin rewards a core flashpoint.
• Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong said the draft was “dangerous” heading into markup, arguing banks are shaping the bill.

BitMine’s Chairman Tom Lee said Tether (USDT) is “like a better bank than a bank” during BitMine Immersion Technologies’ annual meeting on Thursday, as the U.S. Senate’s crypto market bill debate remains unsettled.

Speaking at the annual meeting of BitMine (BMNR), Lee said Tether’s USDT stablecoin has roughly $180 billion to $190 billion outstanding. He argued that the scale is about 1% of the U.S. dollar supply. Lee added that Tether could earn close to $20 billion from its stablecoin business, which he said would make it among the most profitable banks globally and second by implied market value behind JPMorgan.

“There’s about $19 trillion of dollar supply, so Tether has roughly 1% of it. With that, Tether could earn close to $20 billion issuing a stablecoin backed by 1% of U.S. dollar supply. That would make it the sixth most profitable bank in the world, and its market value would rank second only to JPMorgan. A crypto-native stablecoin issuer would effectively be the second-biggest bank in the world — with around 300 employees, versus JPMorgan’s 300,000. It’s a crypto-native company using blockchain as settlement. And since most of Tether runs on Ethereum, it’s a better bank than a bank.”
-Tom Lee, Chairman Of BitMine Immersion Technologies

Lee framed the comparison as part of a broader clash over the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act). He said traditional banks and crypto-native firms have competing goals for regulation, with banks seeking rules that favor officials. 

Coinbase Objects CLARITY Vote

This comes in the wake of Coinbase (COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong speaking to FOX Business on Friday, where he said a Senate Banking Committee draft raised issues that “would have been dangerous” to take into markup without fixes. He openly warned that the language would effectively ban tokenized stocks, bringing limitations on DeFi and banning passive yield on stablecoins.

The standoff comes as the rules for stablecoins are already changing how people pay for things in the real world. The GENIUS Act, which went into effect last July, is beginning to have a real-world impact on the $900 billion market for remittances, Fortune reported, which is making it difficult for crypto-native companies butt-head with established money movers like Western Union and MoneyGram.

Read also: Ethereum Co-founder Vitalik Vows To ‘Take Back Lost Ground’ In 2026

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