Tether, the stablecoin powerhouse behind USDT, is exploring a new fundraise nearing as much as $20 billion, potentially valuing the company at nearly $500 billion, according to separate reports from Reuters and Bloomberg. This would make Tether one of the most valuable privately held companies, rivalling even hot AI firms such as OpenAI.
Tether is considering selling a roughly 3% equity stake for $15–20 billion. Cantor Fitzgerald has been named as the lead adviser, and CEO Paolo Ardoino confirmed that the company is evaluating a raise from a “selected group of high-profile key investors.” However, he declined to share additional details. “Tether is evaluating a raise from a selected group of high-profile key investors, to maximize the scale of the Company’s strategy across all existing and new business lines (stablecoins, distribution ubiquity, AI, commodity trading, energy, communications, media) by several orders of magnitude,” he wrote on his post on X.
If successful, the raise could provide a deep war chest capital to pursue expansions, as well as new business lines, and further investments — effectively allowing it to compete with tech giants in valuation and scope. A successful deal could validate stablecoins (especially the largest ones) as core infrastructure in global digital finance, increasing appetite from institutional and sovereign investors. But the valuation sets high expectations, and any underperformance or regulatory trauma might provoke broader market backlash.
At present, the stablecoin USDT has a market capitalization of about $173 billion — making it the dominant stablecoin by far. Tether has also taken several strategic moves over recent months: it hired former White House crypto policy executive Bo Hines as a strategic adviser in August, aimed at strengthening its US presence under a more favorable regulatory climate. The company is also planning to launch a new US-based stablecoin, USAT, for American users, possibly regulated under the new “Genius Act” legislative framework. However, sources caution that the reported $500 billion valuation is a top-end target, and that the deal size, stake percentage, or valuation could shift significantly during negotiations.
This raise marks Tether’s goal to transform beyond a stablecoin issuer into a financial and infrastructure firm. By securing the fresh infusion of capital, it could fund expansion across sectors such as AI, energy, commodity trading, communications, and media, as indicated in prior statements by Ardoino. Additionally, the timing aligns with a more crypto-positive shift in US policy, especially under the Trump administration, which has made legislative progress to formalize stablecoin regulation domestically. By coordinating capital infusion with regulatory momentum, Tether may be positioning itself to more aggressively compete with US-based stablecoin issuers like Circle (USDC), which already has public visibility following its IPO.
Also worth noting is how heavily Tether participates in US Treasury markets. Academic findings estimate that Tether holds large amounts of Treasury bills, and its balance of holdings is sufficiently influential to exert measurable upward pressure on yields. Still, stablecoins are under increasing scrutiny globally. Regulators in the US, EU, and elsewhere are pushing for oversight, reserve transparency, and limits on how stablecoins behave within the broader monetary system. If regulatory frameworks tighten, Tether’s leverage and pricing power could face unexpected constraints.
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