The Federal Reserve's rate-hiking spree from March 2022 to July 2023 transformed the financial landscape, lifting the federal funds rate from near-zero to a peak of 5.50 percent in a bid to tame inflation that had surged to 9.1 percent. Cryptocurrencies bore the brunt: Bitcoin plunged 77 percent from its $69,000 all-time high to $15,500, Ethereum shed 80 percent to $900, and the total market cap evaporated over $2 trillion in a brutal bear market that lingered into 2025. Traders and retail investors watched in dismay as liquidity dried up and risk appetite evaporated. Yet amid the carnage, a select group of players not only survived but flourished, turning the pain of high rates into substantial profits. Tether, the issuer of the world's largest stablecoin, reported $13 billion in earnings for 2024 alone, largely from interest on its Treasury reserves. U.S. banks saw net interest margins swell to multi-decade highs, generating billions in extra revenue. Short sellers in crypto derivatives platforms like Binance and Bybit pocketed hundreds of millions by betting against the downturn, while savvy DeFi yield farmers locked in 5-8 percent APYs on lending pools, outpacing traditional savings amid the squeeze. These stories of resilience challenge the narrative that high rates crush all risk assets; instead, they reveal how adaptive strategies in stablecoins banking and leveraged trades can harvest gains from policy pain. As the Fed pivots to cuts in September 2025—with rates now at 4.00-4.25 percent and two more eyed by year-end—this look back dissects who profited most during the hike era, how they did it, and what lessons apply to the unwinding, offering traders a roadmap to navigate the transition's volatility.

Historical Background The Fed's Hiking Cycle and Its Uneven Toll

The Fed's aggressive tightening began in earnest on March 16, 2022, with a 25 basis-point hike—the first since December 2018—escalating to 75 basis-point increments by June as inflation metrics like core PCE hit 4.4 percent, the hottest in four decades. By July 2023, rates topped out at 5.25-5.50 percent, a 525 basis-point swing that reshaped global finance. The stated goal was simple: Cool demand to anchor inflation at 2 percent while preserving jobs. Yet the fallout was asymmetric, hammering growth assets like stocks and crypto while rewarding yield bearers.

Crypto's suffering was acute. The market cap peaked at $3 trillion in November 2021 but cratered to $800 billion by December 2022, a 73 percent wipeout, per CoinMarketCap historical data. Bitcoin's correlation to the S&P 500 tightened to 0.65 during the hikes, up from 0.45 pre-2022, as both assets recoiled from higher borrowing costs and recession fears. Ethereum, intertwined with DeFi, saw TVL plunge 80 percent from $180 billion to $35 billion by mid-2023, with yields on major pools like Aave dropping from 12 percent to 2.5 percent as liquidity fled. Altcoins fared worse: Solana fell 94 percent, many memecoins evaporated 99 percent, and NFT sales volumes tumbled 97 percent to $1.5 billion annually, per NonFungible reports.

Not everyone lost. High rates created windfalls for those positioned in fixed income or shorts. U.S. banks' net interest income soared 15 percent in 2022 to $600 billion, the highest since 2007, as loan rates outpaced deposit costs, per FDIC quarterly data. Stablecoin issuers, holding billions in low-risk Treasuries, reaped windfalls: Tether's profits jumped from $1.5 billion in 2021 to $6.2 billion in 2023, a 313 percent leap, fueled by 5 percent yields on $80 billion reserves. Short sellers on platforms like Deribit and FTX (pre-collapse) bet against the decline, with open interest in BTC shorts peaking at $2.5 billion in November 2022, generating estimated $1.2 billion in profits for those who timed exits right, per Skew analytics.

DeFi adapted too. While overall yields compressed, niche strategies like overcollateralized lending on MakerDAO sustained 4-6 percent APYs, attracting $10 billion in stable deposits by late 2023. Carry trades flourished: Borrow at 2 percent on USDC, lend at 5 percent on T-bills via tokenized wrappers like Ondo, netting 3 percent risk-free. These pockets of profit persisted into 2025's hold phase, with rates at 4.25 percent through summer yielding $4.5 billion annually for Tether alone, per Q2 attestations.

The cycle's asymmetry stemmed from policy mechanics: Hikes widened credit spreads, boosting margins for lenders while squeezing borrowers. For crypto, the 2022-2025 era etched a lesson: High rates punish speculation but reward yield and positioning, setting the stage for the current easing pivot.

Core Analysis Who Profited and How During the High-Rate Era

Stablecoin Issuers The Yield Machine in Disguise

Stablecoin issuers emerged as the undisputed champions of the high-rate regime, transforming dollar-pegged tokens into profit powerhouses. Tether led the pack, reporting $13 billion in net profits for 2024—a staggering 150 percent surge from 2023's $5.2 billion—almost entirely from interest on its $120 billion reserves parked in U.S. Treasuries and cash equivalents yielding 4.5-5.3 percent during the peak. How? Reserves, audited quarterly by BDO, allocate 80 percent to short-term T-bills, which climbed from 0.1 percent in 2020 to 5.3 percent by 2023, generating $6.2 billion in 2023 alone—more than BlackRock's $5.5 billion that year. Circle, issuer of USDC, followed suit with $3.1 billion in 2024 profits, up 120 percent, from $50 billion reserves yielding 4.8 percent on average. These gains flowed to equity holders: Tether's parent Bitfinex distributed $1.5 billion in dividends in 2024, while Circle's valuation hit $9 billion pre-IPO.